


Zoe the Original Vampire Slayer

by hopefulminty



Series: Zoe the Vampire Slayer [2]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Vampire Slayer, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-13 13:26:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 26,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14749715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopefulminty/pseuds/hopefulminty
Summary: Sequel toZoe the Vampire Slayer.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I ended up deciding to take a very short break from writing about this universe before jumping right into the sequel (which will be taking the _Sincerely, E - Stories_ format). I think it's safe to say that writing about these characters has officially become part of my nighttime routine. The fact that I'm only about halfway through my Buffy-Angel rewatch probably isn't helping matters...

**Saturday, December 30, 2017 1:30 PM**

Evan didn’t want to die. Not metaphorically, not spiritually, and definitely not literally.

He didn’t want to die, but he wouldn’t be upset if a hole opened up below him and something dragged him underground for a bit.

Or if he went invisible.

He wouldn’t mind being invisible just then. He wondered if there was a way to make himself turn invisible. Maybe if he focused hard enough, he could make himself disappear. 

His eyes flew open as Jared continued to laugh. He hadn’t really expected that to work, but he couldn’t help feeling disappointed. It would’ve been nice if the invisibility thing had worked in his favor for once.

Evan folded his arms across his chest and glowered at Jared. “Why do I tell you things?”

“Honestly?” Jared laughed. His laughter was so loud that it was bordering on hysterical. “I have no idea.”

Evan sighed and slumped down in his chair. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting. Had he actually thought this conversation would go well? Had he actually thought that it would be something other than excruciatingly embarrassing? 

He should’ve kept his mouth shut. He didn’t even know what the whole Connor situation was yet. They hadn’t had a chance to talk about it. They hadn’t actually done anything about it. It was just out there, hovering, lurking, waiting for something that Evan couldn’t pinpoint. 

Jared stopped laughing abruptly and pulled himself up to study Evan’s face. “Did he cast a spell on you?”

“What?”

“Connor,” Jared snapped. “He did, didn’t he? You’re under some kind of freaky weird love spell.” Jared grabbed his phone and unlocked the screen. “Don’t worry. I’ll call Alana. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Evan frantically reached across the table to knock the phone out of Jared’s hand. “Don’t!”

“Don’t...” Jared shook his head. “You don’t want to be cured?”

“I’m not under a spell.”

“You’re telling me that you’re willingly, of your own free mind, going out with Connor Murphy?”

“Yes,” Evan said slowly. He buried his face in his arms as his cheeks heated up. 

“You know, people usually don’t know when they’re under a spell,” Jared pointed out. 

“I’m not under a spell,” Evan maintained. “Don’t you think I’d be more... I don’t know. I’d be gushing and raving and acting like an idiot.” Evan narrowed his eyes warningly. “Don’t.”

Jared threw his arms up defensively. “Okay, so no spell. Is he threatening you?”

“What?”

“Did he decide that pretending to go out with you isn’t enough to keep his parents off his back or... That was Zoe’s reason. I never did understand exactly why Connor dragged you into all this.”

“He isn’t threatening me,” Evan said firmly.

“If he’s threatening you, blink twice.”

“What?” Evan blinked.

“Okay, that was one blink. One more and-”

“Why are you-” Evan squeezed his eyes shut. “You know he’s not here, right?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So-”

“So, he could be listening.”

“You think he’s bugged my house?” Evan laughed.

Jared shrugged and tilted his head. “Okay, so, two blinks if he’s trapped you in some weird blackmail-hostage-Stockholm situation.” 

Jared sighed and stared out the window. “That was at least ten blinks. I don’t know what that means.”

“It means I’m done talking about this,” Evan said.

The room was silent for a moment as Jared continued to watch the snow.

“Are you even...” Jared stopped speaking and scratched at his neck.

“Am I even what?”

“Do you even like guys?”

Evan swallowed sharply as he stared down at his hands. “I, uh-”

“You brought this up,” Jared reminded him shrilly. “I’m just-”

“I’m bi,” Evan said quietly.

“Oh,” Jared nodded swiftly. “Okay. Cool.”

“Yeah,” Evan muttered.

He felt like saying that should’ve been a big deal. Like it should’ve felt like one. He’d known he was bi for a couple years, but he’d never said it out loud. Not in so many words. Not even to his mom, though he knew she knew. He was pretty sure she’d figured that out before he had. 

He glanced up cautiously. He could tell that this wasn’t sitting well with Jared. He didn’t know if it was the bi part or the Connor part. He suspected it was primarily the latter. He dropped his gaze as Jared opened and closed his mouth several times.

“But, seriously, Connor?” Jared snickered. “Of all the... I mean, you should date who you want to date, whether that’s a guy or a girl or-or whatever... But Connor. Really?”

Evan didn’t know what to say. He didn’t really have a response to that. 

He liked Connor. He liked being around him. He’d known that for a while. He was comfortable around him, which was kind of a big deal when he stopped and thought about it. 

The rest of it was new. So new that they hadn’t actually done any of it. Evan didn’t think it was a bad idea though. It was just different. And kind of strange and thrilling and scary. He couldn’t think about it while he was sitting across from Jared. He knew his face would turn tomato red if he did. 

Jared let out an amused huff and shook his head. “I guess there really is no accounting for taste.”

 

**Saturday, December 30, 2017 4:45 PM**

Zoe let out an exasperated groan as her music abruptly stopped. She closed her eyes before spinning around to face the stairs. She put a hand on her hip when she saw that Connor, not one of her parents, was to blame.

“What the fuck are you listening to?” Connor sneered. 

Zoe narrowed her eyes as she brushed past him. She hit play and returned to her punching bag. She hadn’t even gotten a fist in the air before the music cut off again.

“What was the DJ smoking when he remixed this song?” Connor chuckled. “It sounds like-”

“What do you want?” Zoe demanded. She hopped onto her trampoline and started jogging up and down. 

“Evan’s going to be here soon,” Connor told her. “We’re going to watch something upstairs if you want to join us.”

“No, thanks,” Zoe said sharply.

Connor’s lips pursed as he studied her. “How long have you been down here?”

“Couple hours,” Zoe shrugged.

“I haven’t see you since breakfast. Have you been doing this all day?”

“Oh my God,” Zoe moaned. “Did you switch brains with Mom or something? Can this wait? I’m in the middle of a workout.”

“You’ve been working out a lot this week,” Connor said lightly.

“I’m the Slayer. I have to be in shape.”

“You are in shape.”

Zoe jumped off the trampoline and reached for her water bottle. She gulped it down before throwing a hoodie on over her tank top. 

“I’m going to patrol,” Zoe announced.

“Now?” Connor raised his eyebrows at her. “It’s only-”

Connor breathed in quickly when he saw her face. He raised his hands in defeat. “Okay, fine. I’ll call Evan. We can go with you.”

“Wow, okay,” Zoe laughed. “Are you that freaked about your date?”

“It’s not a date.” Connor anxiously ran a hand through his hair.

“You are,” Zoe smirked. “You’re scared he’s changed his mind, aren’t you? Or are you worried that you’ll blow it? That’s gotta to be it. You’re scared you’ll mess this up like you do everything else.”

Connor’s expression turned murderous for a moment before he looked away. “Okay, I get that this hasn’t been an easy week for you, but-”

“I’m out of here,” Zoe cut in. 

“Zoe-” Connor started. 

Zoe glared down at him from the top of the stairs. She hated the look on his face. The stupid confused, concerned, questioning look on his face.

“You know,” Zoe snapped. “I think I liked it better when you didn’t give a crap about me.”

Zoe pulled her hood up, turned on her heel, and left the basement without waiting for a response.

 

**Saturday, December 30, 2017 6:00 PM**

The antelope was a goner. Connor knew that and he’d barely been paying attention.

He raised an eyebrow as Evan recoiled next to him. “I thought you said you don’t like horror movies.”

“This isn’t a horror movie,” Evan said. He wrinkled his nose as the lions dug into their dinner.

“It kind of is,” Connor grinned. “It’s bloodier than some of the ones I’ve seen.”

“It’s a documentary,” Evan reminded him. He glanced at Connor quickly before turning back to the screen. “We can watch something else if you want.”

“It’s your turn to pick,” Connor shrugged.

“I know,” Evan nodded. “But you don’t seem interested in it.”

“It’s not the documentary,” Connor admitted. “It’s been a weird week.”

“Yeah,” Evan agreed. He grabbed a handful of popcorn and blinked at the TV.

Zoe’s words echoed through Connor’s head as he tried to focus on the show.

Was he blowing this? He didn’t know. He honestly had no idea. 

He didn’t know how to do these things. He still felt like he didn’t have the whole friend thing figured out. How was he supposed to go beyond that?

At least, Evan was in the same boat. Connor thought he was anyway. 

Neither of them knew what they were doing. Which was kind of hilarious when Connor thought about it. There must be something seriously wrong with them. Their classmates had figured out how to do stuff like this in middle school. They were all basically experts by now.

Connor had never thought he’d be in a position where that would occur to him. He’d definitely never thought he’d be in a position where it would bother him. Almost bother him. He refused to let it get to him.

“So,” Connor said slowly. “How’d it go with your dad yesterday?”

“Oh,” Evan muttered. “Fine, I guess? I, uh, I just went to dinner with them before they left for the airport.” Evan shut his eyes for a moment as he leaned back into the cushions. “It was weird, you know. Liam looks like me at that age.”

“That’s not weird. You share a dad.”

“Yeah,” Evan shrugged. “But, still, it’s...”

“Families are weird,” Connor nodded knowingly. He absentmindedly reached for the popcorn. He froze when his hand brushed against Evan’s.

They both stared at the bowl like it was going to attack them.

Middle schoolers. They were acting like a pair of twelve-year-olds. 

“I think there’s something wrong with Zoe,” Connor blurted out.

Evan’s head shot up at that. “What?”

“She hasn’t been acting like herself since...” Connor swallowed dryly. “She’s been working out around the clock and she’s been...”

He didn’t know how to explain it. Or he did. He knew he did. She was being mean. Bitchy and mean. Mainly to him. Possibly only to him.

A year ago, that wouldn’t have been cause for alarm. It would’ve been a bit odd because Zoe had never initiated any of their fights. She could give as good as she got, but he knew he’d always been the one to get the ball rolling.

It wouldn’t have worried him if it seemed like she’d started it though. He would’ve decided that he must’ve done something – probably while high – to justify Zoe’s rampage.

He knew he hadn’t done anything this time. He was certain of that. Or as certain as he could be given that he didn’t really understand what was going through his sister’s brain.

And, yet, he was somehow the only one noticing that something was off about her. Again.

He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. No one else had really spent any time with Zoe that week. Their parents had been so wrapped up in their lives that they’d only paused long enough to express the fact that they were glad Zoe was alive. Their friends had all been busy with their own families. Even Evan hadn’t had time to come over all week. Bennie had gone to London on Wednesday for an emergency meeting with the Watcher’s Council and Jamie had gone camping with several members of her coven.

Connor felt kind of guilty when he realized that. He knew something was wrong. He really should’ve tried harder to figure it out.

“She’s been what?” Evan wondered.

“She’s...” Connor started. “She’s been mean and short-tempered and-”

“Do you think she’s possessed?”

“Possessed?” Connor frowned. Because, right, he lived in a world where it actually was possible that something had managed to possess his sister.

“I don’t think so,” Connor decided. “She’s still Zoe, just different.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded. “So, what do we do?”

“I don’t know,” Connor shook his head. “Bennie’s supposed to be back tomorrow night.”

“Then we’ll go see him on Monday,” Evan filled in. “What about Jamie?”

“She doesn’t have service out in the woods,” Connor sighed. “I think she’s coming back tonight or tomorrow.”

Evan’s mouth snapped shut as the lion trapped its latest prey.

“You want to watch something else?” Connor smirked

“Yeah,” Evan grimaced. “I didn’t realize this one was so brutal.”

Connor laughed as he reached for the remote with his left hand. 

His right hand brushed against Evan’s hand again. He allowed it to stay put when Evan didn’t react. He allowed their fingers to weave together and...

That had to bump them up to an eighth-grade skill level, didn’t it?

He kept his eyes straight ahead while he pulled up the menu. “Okay. Let’s see what else is on here.”

 

**Saturday, December 30, 2017 9:00 PM**

It wasn’t that Jared hadn’t heard the doorbell. 

He’d heard it. He’d heard it all five times it had rung. 

He was choosing to ignore it because he was in his pajamas and it was late.

Actually, no, it really wasn’t late. He was just feeling lazy.

And kind of concerned because his parents were out and he wasn’t expecting company. Common sense told him that no good could come from opening the door just then.

Jared jumped when his phone buzzed. He looked down long enough to read a text from Zoe.

_I know you’re in there._

Jared couldn’t help chuckling as he let her in. “Hey, uh-”

“Are your parents home?” Zoe demanded.

“My parents?” Jared blinked. “Why? You want to talk to them?”

Zoe squinted at him in disbelief. “No...”

“They went out to eat with their friends,” Jared told her. 

He’d barely gotten the words out before she pounced on him.

Not literally, but that really was the best way he could think to describe it. He let out a muffled gasp as she maneuvered them into the living room and onto the couch. 

It was like his brain couldn’t process what was happening. Zoe was kissing him. Ferociously kissing him. He wanted to ask if his Star Wars pajama bottoms were doing something for her, but he was too stunned to say anything.

He swallowed awkwardly as she straddled him and started kissing her way down his neck.

“Hey,” Jared muttered. “Not that I’m complaining, but-”

He inhaled sharply as she reached for his waistband. 

“Hey, okay,” Jared gasped. He pushed her hand away and tried to pull himself up. It took her a second to realize what he was doing. 

She frowned as she slid off of him. “What?”

“Can we...” Jared could feel his face heating up. “It’s not that I don’t want to... you know. It’s just...”

He squeezed his eyes shut while he tried to collect his thoughts. His mind felt like mush and he knew his body was already getting mad at him for stopping her, but...

He wasn’t ready for that. Any of that. 

And he kind of felt like she wasn’t either. He didn’t know what was going on with her, but this wasn’t the Zoe he knew.

The Zoe he knew didn’t suddenly decide to go from zero to ninety without warning.

“Oh my God,” Zoe moaned. “I am so sick of people telling me what to do.”

“Hey, I’m not-” Jared flinched as she hopped off the couch. 

Zoe tightened her ponytail and stormed across the room without saying a word. She glanced over her shoulder once and...

Jared bristled when he saw her expression. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve that. 

He flopped back onto the couch when he heard the door slam shut behind her.

He was starting to think that Evan might have the right idea after all. Not about Connor. And maybe not even about guys because Jared wasn’t sure that he could ever actually be interested in them, but one thing was for certain. He didn’t get girls. At all. 

Not even a little bit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Monday, January 1, 2018 9:30 AM**

His parents were hungover.

Connor realized that the second he walked into the kitchen. His father was sitting at the table, rubbing his forehead and staring at a bottle of aspirin like it held the answers to all of the universe’s mysteries. His mother was blinking at the cabinet by the stove like she wasn’t entirely sure how she’d gotten there or what she’d wanted to get out of it in the first place.

Connor didn’t say a word. He simply slipped into the room and quietly poured himself a bowl of cereal.

He could be a decent person when he wanted. He could be considerate of others, which was more than he could say for his family. None of them had ever worried about how much noise they were making when he’d been hungover.

He looked at the clock and sighed when he saw that it was still early. Hopefully Zoe would be asleep for another hour or two. He knew the morning’s peace would end as soon as she emerged from her room.

He glanced down when his phone chirped. He swallowed his laughter as his father groaned and reached for the aspirin.

_You think Zoe’s possessed???_

Connor grimaced when he saw Jared’s text. He hadn’t said a word about Zoe. He’d merely asked if Jared had come across any articles detailing how to tell if someone was possessed. He should’ve known that Jared’s brain would jump straight to Zoe.

Connor smirked as his phone went off again. He glanced up long enough to grin at his parents. “Sorry...”

_That would explain some things._

Connor nodded to himself and texted back, _Yeah..._

He put his phone down and took a bite of his cereal.

He kind of hoped that Zoe was possessed because then they could fix her. Jamie could brew a potion or cast a spell or something. Anything to get the evil spirit out of his sister.

The alternative was that Zoe was freaking out. That reality was setting in and she was PTSD-ing all over the place.

Connor didn’t know how they’d handle that one. He’d been trying to be patient with her. He was starting to feel like he deserved some kind of medal or sainthood for that. He was starting to feel like he should be called a freaking saint for putting up with her all week.

It hadn’t been easy. She’d been lashing out left and right. The night before had been the worst one yet. She’d been horrible to all of them.

It was no wonder Jared’s mind went where it did. Connor actually felt sorry for him. He actually felt like he needed to apologize to Jared Kleinman for the way his sister was behaving. He’d never expected that thought to cross his mind.

They’d ended up going downtown for the New Year’s event in the square. Zoe had insisted that they go and stay all night in case anything happened.

It hadn’t though. The event had gone off without a hitch. The only problems they encountered were caused by Zoe herself.

Connor hadn’t warned the others because he’d assumed she would direct the majority of her anger at him. He’d been wrong about that. She’d spent the night spreading her bitchiness among the group, making sure no one felt left out.

She’d rolled her eyes and made faces behind Alana’s back every time she talked. She’d made so many cat jokes about Tracy that Connor couldn’t imagine any of them ever bringing up Tracy’s time as a feline again. 

She’d mocked Connor and Evan about their relationship. Not about the fact that they were together. About the fact that things between them were obviously still awkward and clumsy and new. It had gotten to the point where Evan had gone off with Jared and avoided Connor for the rest of the night.

As for Jared, Connor wasn’t sure what the story was there. It was obvious that Jared had somehow managed to seriously piss Zoe off. That wouldn’t be a surprise under normal circumstances, but Connor was willing to bet that Jared hadn’t done anything wrong this time.

At the very least, he was willing to bet that Jared hadn’t done anything to justify the way Zoe had dragged her ex, Gavin, onto the dance floor. 

And none of them had deserved to see the way Zoe shoved her tongue down Gavin’s throat.

Connor felt like shuddering at the memory. It would’ve been disgusting even if it hadn’t involved his sister.

Connor lowered his head when the kitchen door swung open. He could hear Zoe’s music blasting from the earbuds wrapped around her neck. It only took a moment for the sound to make their father rub his forehead again.

“I’m going for a jog,” Zoe announced. 

“Now?” Cynthia blinked. “But you just woke up. You haven’t even eaten yet.”

“I’m not hungry,” Zoe shrugged.

Connor glanced up and tried to catch his mother’s eye. He wished there was a way for him to psychically inform her that she should let Zoe go.

“Wait,” Cynthia said quickly. “Before you go, I wanted to check with you about this afternoon.”

“This afternoon?” Zoe frowned.

“The Founder’s Day tea,” Cynthia replied. “It’s at one o’clock.”

“I’m going to Bennie’s this afternoon.”

“You said you’d go with me,” Cynthia reminded her. “All the other girls are bringing their daughters, so you won’t be the only-”

“I can’t go,” Zoe interrupted. “I have to see my Watcher.”

“You can still go see Mr. Benson, as long as you’re back by-”

“I can’t go with you!” Zoe snapped. “And, honestly, I can’t believe you think I’d even want to go to something like that.”

Connor looked away as his mother’s face crumbled. She turned to face the sink before anyone else could see.

“Don’t talk to you mother like that,” Larry scolded.

Zoe laughed mirthlessly. “You’re one to talk.”

“Excuse me?”

Connor knew that look. He’d seen it on his father’s face countless times. He’d never seen it directed at Zoe though.

“I’m just saying, isn’t this how we communicate in this house?”

Connor stared at his sister in amazement while their parents exchanged a look.

“I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere today,” Larry informed her. “Including to see your Watcher.”

“You think you can stop me?” Zoe laughed. “Really?”

“Zoe-” Connor started.

“You all are acting like...” Zoe rolled her shoulders and puffed out her cheeks. She put a hand on her hip as she turned to face her parents. “You think we don’t hear you? We know how you talk to each other, how you fight. You can’t stand each other.”

“That’s enough,” Larry said shortly.

“Yeah,” Zoe agreed. “I think it is.”

She shoved her earbuds in and dashed out of the room before anyone could recover enough to stop her.

No one said anything when she was gone. Connor watched his parents. He watched as his father stared after Zoe like he couldn’t wrap his mind around what had happened. He watched as his mother collapsed onto a chair and allowed her head to sink into her hands.

“Do you think...” Cynthia started hoarsely. She squinted up at Connor. “Do you think there might be something wrong with your sister?”

Connor wanted to laugh. Not because it was funny, but because he couldn’t believe that was even a question.

He didn’t say that though. He didn’t even ask how they were only just starting to wonder what was going on with Zoe.

He simply took a bite of his cereal, shrugged, and said, “Yeah.”

 

**Monday, January 1, 2018 3:30 PM**

Alana was trying her hardest not to smile.

She was starting to feel guilty about being happy. Not that being happy was something she should feel guilty about.

She just felt bad about the fact that she was happy while everyone else in the room was clearly miserable.

Everyone except for Tracy. 

Who was the reason Alana was happy. 

One of the reasons. Because she refused to become one of those girls whose happiness was dependent on her relationship status.

Alana frowned slightly when she realized that the mood in the room had become even gloomier than it had been a minute ago.

She glanced around uncertainly while she tried to figure out what she’d missed. She knew she should be trying harder to pay attention to Bennie. He was obviously telling them something important. Something that had caused everyone to gawk at him like he’d just announced that the world was ending for real this time.

Everyone except for Tracy, who had cruelly distracted Alana by grabbing her hand under the table.

“There’s another Slayer?” Jared gasped.

“What?” Alana asked. Her eyebrows raised as she turned to face Bennie.

“Her name is-” Bennie began.

“Is that her?” Zoe demanded. Her eyes narrowed as she pointed at the girl who was standing in the doorway.

Alana blinked as she looked the girl up and down.

She wasn’t sure that girl was the right word to describe the newcomer.

She was young, but not that young. She was one of those people who could easily pass for anything between fifteen and twenty-five.

She had long brown hair that had been twisted up in a sophisticated-looking knot. Even without seeing her move, without hearing her speak, Alana could tell that the girl possessed a level of confidence that Alana could only dream of having.

“No,” Bennie said quietly. “Everyone, this is my sister, Elizabeth.”

 

**Monday, January 1, 2018 4:00 PM**

Zoe knew someone had followed her out. She’d heard the door shut a second time after she ran from Bennie’s house. She could sense someone walking behind her.

She refused to slow down or look back though. 

She was surprised when she felt a hand on her arm. She glanced up long enough to glare at her aunt.

“You know, I always think I’m in shape until I try to keep up with you,” Jamie laughed. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. “I’m not going to ask if you’re okay because you obviously aren’t.”

“What do you want?” Zoe snapped.

“Okay, wow,” Jamie breathed in quickly. “Are you feeling the need to consume human flesh?”

“What?” Zoe scoffed.

“I’m starting to think the boys might have a point about-”

“I’m not possessed!” Zoe rolled her eyes when she saw how surprised Jamie looked. “I heard them talking to you.”

“Okay,” Jamie nodded. “But something’s clearly wrong.”

“I died,” Zoe blurted out. She shoved her hands in her pockets and leaned against the alley wall.

Jamie carefully put a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “Okay, look, I’m not going to claim I know what you’re going through because I don’t. I’m not the Slayer. I’ve never died. But I-”

Zoe shrugged Jamie off and stepped away.

Her head was spinning. She was tired. She hadn’t been sleeping. What little sleep she got was plagued with nightmares. When she was awake, she couldn’t focus on anything. It had been like this for days, but Bennie had just made it so much worse.

There was another Slayer. Her death – her brief, temporary death – had caused another Slayer to be called.

Another girl was out there dealing with this stuff because she had failed. 

And that wasn’t all. 

Bennie had told them that it was possible for vampires to come back.

His sister had been a vampire. He had staked her fifteen years ago and now she was back. She was alive. She was human.

Zoe didn’t understand how. None of them understood why. Jamie had asked a bunch of questions and Bennie had answered some of them. Zoe hadn’t been able to follow their conversation at all.

The only part that stuck was the fact that vampires could be resurrected.

The thought made her sick. It made her queasy. 

It meant that Elder could come back.

It meant that this could happen again.

That was the thing she couldn’t let go of. 

She had died. She could die again.

She would die again. She knew that. Everyone died eventually. 

But it could happen to her sooner rather than later.

“Zoe,” Jamie muttered.

“Stop!” Zoe cried. She spun around to narrow her eyes at Jamie. “Stop trying to help me because you can’t. You’ve proven that already. Go help Alana. That’s all you’re good for, isn’t it? Magic tricks? Let’s face it, you’re useless to this operation. You have no idea how to help me. You have no idea how-”

“And people say I’m a bitch.”

Zoe’s back stiffened as she looked over her shoulder.

“Amy,” Jamie greeted curtly. 

Amy stepped forward enough that they could see her loitering in the back of the alley. She eyed the sun warily as the shadows danced across her face.

“I heard the Slayer was in a funk, but...” Amy let out a low whistle. 

“How do you know these things?” Zoe demanded. Her blood felt cold as it pumped through her veins. “How did you get my number? What’re you spying on me or-”

“Relax, sweetie,” Amy said soothingly. “I’m not here to fight. Trust me, you’ll know when that day comes.”

“You didn’t answer-”

“I have my ways,” Amy smiled. “Let’s just leave it at that.”

“What do you want, Amy?” Jamie sighed.

“Jamie, love, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Amy beamed. “Did you go to the reunion this year? Was there a memorial service for me? I know they always do a group thing, but did anyone do something special? Robbie, maybe? He had such a crush on me.”

“I didn’t go,” Jamie said firmly.

“Of course, you didn’t,” Amy rolled her eyes. “Once a loser, always a loser.”

Jamie stared blankly at Amy and shook her head. “Once a bitch, always a bitch.”

“Oh, look at you,” Amy grinned. “You finally grew a spine, didn’t you?” 

Amy smirked as she stared at the sky. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I just thought you should know that all of Elder’s lackeys have left town.” She crossed her ankles and pretended to curtsy. “You’re welcome.”

“It’s like I said,” Amy cheerfully continued. “There’s really no reason for us to be enemies. I’m not like the other vampires. I don’t care about killing the Slayer. And I definitely don’t want to end the world. My only enemies are the ones who get in my way.”

Amy reached for the door behind her and pulled it open. “Until next time, ladies.”

Jamie shook her head. “Amy Beckett... She was the only girl in school who could make people thank her for making them cry.”

Zoe nodded numbly. She felt like her legs were giving out on her. She breathed in shakily as she slid to the ground.

“Zoe?” Jamie murmured. She immediately dropped down next to her niece.

Zoe pulled her knees up and rocked back and forth. She didn’t know why it was hitting her like this. She didn’t know what had brought this on. She just...

She couldn’t breathe. She tried and failed to choke back a sob. Her face fell into her hands as her shoulders started to shake uncontrollably.

She felt Jamie wrap her arms around her. She felt her head move to her aunt’s shoulder.

She let herself cry. For the first time since she’d come back, she let herself cry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tuesday, January 2, 2018 12:00 PM**

Jared kind of felt like he should have grabbed a bag of popcorn from the vending machine.

That was a mean thought. Even he knew that. He felt bad for Bennie. He couldn’t imagine how Bennie was dealing with all this.

It couldn’t be easy to have your twin sister come back from the dead. Your twin sister who killed your father because she was a crazy, evil vampire. Your twin sister who you was apparently holding a grudge because you had slayed her. 

Jared was glad that Elizabeth wasn’t paying attention to them. She didn’t seem to be a particularly nice person. He was glad they hadn’t met her when she was a vampire.

Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest and shook her head at her brother as he attempted to get a pair of sophomores to leave the band room.

“But, Mr. Benson, Ms. Addison said we could practice in here,” the girl said desperately.

“Yeah,” the boy nodded rapidly. “We need to-”

“I’m afraid Ms. Addison didn’t check with me,” Bennie cut in. “If she had, I would’ve told her that the room had already been reserved for a private band practice.”

“They always get the room,” the girl said shrilly. 

“Have you tried Mr. Neely’s room?” Bennie wondered. “He lets students work in there when he doesn’t have a class.”

The sophomores exchanged a look and left the room with their heads down. Jared could hear them complaining about how unfair this was as they wandered back down the hall.

Bennie shut the door as soon as they were gone. He rubbed his forehead when he saw the way Elizabeth was glaring at him. “What?”

“I can’t believe you were assigned to the Slayer,” Elizabeth said sharply. “It’s no wonder she died.”

“This isn’t the time, Lizzie,” Bennie muttered. Jared didn’t think he was imagining the glint in Bennie’s eye when he said her name.

Elizabeth bristled at the nickname and turned to look at the group sitting on the steps. “Where is she anyway?”

“They’re not coming,” Evan said. He waved his phone in the air. “Connor texted me. They’re, uh... They decided to leave early today.”

“They’re skipping school?” Elizabeth laughed. She sat down at the piano and squinted at the papers piled on top of it. “It’s true what John said, isn’t it? You really don’t have any control over the Slayer.”

Bennie’s lips formed a thin line as he watched her pick up his planner.

“And look at this,” Elizabeth tutted. “Lesson plans, grades, arrangements... You’re taking this teaching job seriously? This shouldn’t be your focus. What was the Council thinking sending you here? You should be working in the office, doing clerical work. Not this. They should’ve sent someone capable.”

“Like you?” Bennie retorted. “Oh, but you weren’t available, were you?”

Elizabeth tossed the planner down and stood up. “And whose fault was that? If you hadn’t-”

“We’re not having this fight again,” Bennie snapped. “Not here. Not in front of-”

“The civilians,” Elizabeth filled in. “You heard what the Council said about them.”

“And I’m choosing to ignore it,” Bennie said. “They’ve more than proved their worth. In fact, if it hadn’t been for Evan over there, Zoe would still be dead.”

Jared shook his shoulders and leaned back to look at his friends. “Anyone else want to go eat in the library today?”

Evan and the girls nodded immediately.

Tracy glanced around at the others as they left the room. “Okay, I think it’s safe to say that I’m really starting to appreciate my family and our problems now.”

Her comment was met with a chorus of ‘me toos.’

 

**Tuesday, January 2, 2018 12:05 PM**

Connor smirked when he saw the look on Zoe’s face when she saw him leaning against his car.

“What’re you doing here?” Zoe demanded.

“Where are we going?” Connor countered.

Zoe frowned as she looked over her shoulder. “How did you-”

“You didn’t think I noticed when you swiped my keys, did you?”

Zoe made face and tightened her hold on the keys. “I wish I had my car back.”

Connor nodded at the car. “So, are you driving, or am I?”

Zoe didn’t bother answering. She threw herself into the driver’s seat and started the engine so quickly that Connor worried he wouldn’t have time to get in before she floored it out of there.

She didn’t say anything else. Connor decided it would be in his best interest to stay quiet too. He was starting to feel like initiating conversations with Zoe was as dangerous as poking a sleeping bear. 

He didn’t realize where they were going until they were almost there. He had to fake a cough to mask his surprise.

“Hey,” Connor said softly. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Zoe nodded stiffly. Her eyes never looked away from the road.

The orchard still looked creepy, even in broad daylight. 

Connor didn’t say anything as he followed her down the path. He hung back while she knelt down next to the water.

He watched her stare at it. He watched her reach out and dip her fingers in.

For a second, he worried that she was going to go in all the way. 

He needed to learn CPR. That thought made him worry even more. He knew the basics, sort of. He knew it involved chest compressions and breathing and...

He could ask Evan to teach him.

The thought made him want to laugh. If that didn’t sound like a pick-up line...

Connor blinked when he realized that Zoe was tearing up. He dropped down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“This place used to be so beautiful,” Zoe whispered.

“Yeah,” Connor agreed.

He waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t. 

She just sat there, staring at the water and blinking at her reflection.

 

**Wednesday, January 3, 2018 6:00 AM**

There were over a dozen texts waiting for Evan when he woke up.

That wasn’t unusual now. Six months ago, it would have been. He would’ve panicked and thought that something horrible must have happened. Or that someone had been texting him by mistake.

He smiled as he read the ones from Connor, asking if they could hang out after school so he could copy Evan’s notes from the classes he’d missed.

He shook his head at Jared’s texts about how he’d had to explain to his parents why it wasn’t a good idea to track Henry down and invite him over for dinner.

He bolted up when he saw the ones from his mother.

She’d been asked to work another shift because there were so many people at the hospital. She said the patients had been pouring in for hours.

The doctors were stumped. None of them could understand it at all.

The best they could come up with was that Stormyvale had somehow been hit with a laryngitis epidemic. She said that the health department had decided to close all the local schools and businesses. They were urging people to stay home and drink plenty of fluids. 

Evan frowned when he read that. 

His mother wanted to know if there was something going on that she should know about.

He was about to say there wasn’t when a text popped up from Bennie telling all of them to come to his place as soon as possible.

Evan put his phone down and stared at the wall. He cleared his throat and tried to speak.

Nothing happened.

He shook his head and tried again.

His heart began to race as he wondered what this meant.

Whatever it was, he knew it couldn’t be good.


	4. Chapter 4

**Wednesday, January 3, 2018 12:30 PM**

Bennie had never thought that he’d miss the sounds teenagers made while they yammered away incessantly. He’d never imagined how unsettling it would feel to be surrounded by a group that was silently communicating with one another.

He’d expected the parents to be on his side, so to speak, but they were just as bad as their children. The constant chimes and buzzes filling the room were even more irritating than the side conversations would have been.

Even Elizabeth was adding to them. Bennie pointedly refused to check his phone as it went off for the tenth time that minute. He refused to look up when his sister elbowed him and gestured at it.

He knew she didn’t have anything meaningful to say. Nothing useful or intelligent or of value. 

She’d spent the entire morning criticizing him about everything from his nickname (she thought it was disgraceful that he let the teenagers call him Bennie) to the fact that Zoe had what Elizabeth considered to be an entire army helping her. 

_The Slayer is meant to stand alone._

That had been the text that finally made Bennie toss his phone to the side and bury himself in his research.

It was harder than he would have liked. He didn’t have much to go on. That was often the case, but this felt different.

Probably because his sister was there, judging every move he made. 

He’d suggested that she pick up a book and help him. She’d quickly obliged, but she hadn’t turned a page in almost five minutes.

He still didn’t understand why she was there. 

In his house and on the planet.

He still didn’t understand how she’d been resurrected. Or why. The why part was more worrisome than the how.

He knew it must have taken someone very powerful and very dark to bring Elizabeth back. 

He couldn’t understand why someone who possessed that kind of power would choose to resurrect Elizabeth, out of all the vampires in the world. It didn’t make sense.

It also didn’t make sense that she’d chosen to move in with him. They’d never been close. People had always assumed they were. People liked to think that twins were best friends, that they had a special connection.

That had never been the case with them though. They’d managed to tolerate each other and Bennie truly had been devastated by her death. Both of them. Slaying her had been, without a doubt, the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.

He supposed he couldn’t really blame her for following him to Stormyvale. Their parents were gone, they didn’t have any other relatives in England. None that they were close to, anyway. There were a few distant cousins scattered around Europe, but that was it.

Elizabeth had never had many friends. The few she’d had had moved on with their lives. They were in their mid-thirties now while she was, for all intents and purposes, still twenty years old.

That part still felt strange to Bennie. It was odd to look at Elizabeth and feel like she was now his younger sister. His significantly younger sister.

He knew she didn’t see it that way. She still felt like she was the one in charge.

Not at that particular moment though. She was just as lost as he was. He suspected that was why she was flooding his phone with texts.

Bennie grabbed his laptop and checked his email. In a moment of desperation, he’d written to the Council for help. He shook his head when he saw their response. It was quick and perfunctory. 

They simply said they’d look into it and be in touch.

He didn’t know why he’d expected anything else.

He flexed his hands as he dug back into the pile of books in front of him. His list of possible causes was annoyingly short. So short that it was basically non-existent. Jamie had already ruled out all of the spells he’d found. 

He was starting to think that Jamie had a point about the witches’ digital library. It would be much easier to find something useful if he didn’t have to rely on his collection of dusty, old books.

Of course, it was worth noting that Jamie hadn’t been able to find anything online either.

He glanced around the room long enough to shake his head at their lack of progress. Zoe and her friends weren’t taking this seriously at all. Alana was the only one who had even bothered opening the book in her lap and Bennie was fairly certain she hadn’t looked at more than two pages.

Teenagers... You could take away their voices without fazing them at all. It was a good thing their phones still worked. Bennie couldn’t begin to imagine how many riots there would be if the internet went down.

Which actually...

Bennie grabbed a sheet of paper and scribbled on it before crossing the room and unplugging his router.

He expected to hear a series of groans before he remembered that wasn’t possible.

Their expressions were murderous when he turned around though.

Bennie didn’t let that get to him. He simply held up his paper, which read, “GET TO WORK!”

 

**Wednesday, January 3, 2018 6:30 PM**

Their dinner, if you could call it that, consisted of stale bread and some kind of weird non-dairy butter.

Cynthia seemed to like it.

Larry’s stomach dropped when he realized that.

He hoped that she hadn’t gotten a good look at the tub when it was passed to them. 

He knew better than to expect that she hadn’t though. He had a feeling there wouldn’t be any real butter in their house for at least six months.

He glanced up and shook his head in amazement when he saw how many slices Zoe had piled onto her plate. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to her appetite.

He wondered if he could use that to his advantage. He could tell Cynthia that Zoe needed to have real butter. She needed its calories and fat content.

Zoe caught him staring and shrugged as though to ask, “What?”

Larry smiled slightly and looked away.

He didn’t know if it was simply due to the fact that she couldn’t speak, but this was the happiest Zoe had seemed in days.

He hoped it continued when she got her voice back. He hoped she was done sniping at her family.

He hoped it more for Cynthia’s sake than his own.

He knew Zoe’s attitude had gotten to her. It had bothered him, but not in a personal way. 

He knew there was some truth to what Zoe had said. He knew Cynthia did too, but it was different for her.

He knew she’d stayed with him because of the kids. Because she didn’t want them to go through what she had. She didn’t want them to be children of divorce, forced to watch their parents separate and move on and start new families.

She didn’t want them to end up with their very own Jamies.

He knew they still loved each other. They loved each other and cared about each other. He knew it wouldn’t be easy for any of them if they split up.

He was almost certain that they were past the point where that was something they were seriously considering. He knew that he wasn’t planning to go anywhere and he couldn’t imagine her just deciding to up and leave.

The truth of it was that this was the closest they’d felt to being a family in years. Knowing what Zoe was, knowing that Connor was helping her, knowing that their children were working together to fight evil, it had changed things.

Larry knew that Cynthia still hadn’t fully accepted all of the changes, but he felt like he had. He didn’t know if Zoe and Connor would agree, but that didn’t matter to him. What mattered was how he felt.

Cynthia caught his eye and nodded at the couch across from them. He smiled as he watched their children silently laugh at something in the book Zoe was holding.

Cynthia took his hand and squeezed it.

It only took him a moment to squeeze back.

 

**Thursday, January 4, 2018 12:30 AM**

The house was quiet.

Completely quiet except for the dull murmur of the TV. Part of their group was sprawled out around the living room, watching something that Heidi expected would have entertained her twenty years ago. As it was, she felt like she belonged with the group that had migrated downstairs to sleep.

Heidi couldn’t sleep though. She wasn’t tired. Not even a little bit. She really shouldn’t have had that sixth (was it her sixth?) cup of coffee. 

She’d thought she was never going to be allowed to leave the hospital though and the brief nap she’d managed to take that afternoon hadn’t been cutting it.

Her supervisor had finally sent her home because things had started to calm down. It taken the entire day for word to travel around Stormyvale and inform everyone that this was a widespread problem. 

Heidi had been planning to go home. She really wanted nothing more than to change into her pajamas and watch something mind-numbingly terrible on TV. Evan had insisted that she come to Bennie’s though. He’d texted her that everyone was camping out there because they didn’t know what they were facing and there was safety in numbers.

All of their families were there, Evan had told her. Even Tracy’s parents had shown up. He’d said that like it was supposed to mean something to her.

Which she supposed it probably was. She didn’t know what though. She knew that Tracy was living with Alana’s family and...

That probably should have told her everything she needed to know.

Things like this always made Heidi pause. There were so many times where she felt like she had to solve a puzzle to figure out exactly what Evan was telling her.

And then there were the times he didn’t say anything at all.

Like this one. Was she not supposed to notice the fact that he was holding Connor’s hand? If she said something about it, would he continue to insist that they were pretending to date? 

Even though both of Connor’s parents had retired for the night.

Heidi didn’t know what to think. Part of her felt like she was being ridiculous. She remembered being a teenager. She remembered getting annoyed with her mother when she asked about her boyfriend. She remembered wondering why her mother was making such a big deal out of it. Did she need something printed in the newspaper to make it official? Couldn’t she tell what was going on? Did Heidi really have to tell her every single detail of her life? Did everything she did have to be spelled out and dissected?

Was that what was going on with Evan? Did he think that his actions spoke louder than words? Was he worried that his mother would embarrass him if he said something?

She wouldn’t. She knew she wouldn’t. 

She hoped she wouldn’t.

She felt like cursing when she saw his expression. He quickly let go of Connor’s hand and scooted over so that he was almost on top of Jared.

She could feel her face heating up as Connor and Jared turned to look at her.

She didn’t know what emotions Evan had seen flickering across her face, but she had a feeling they hadn’t been good.

She willed her expression to soften, but she knew it was too late. The boys were already staring at the screen again.

She would have to talk to Evan when this was over. Really talk. Not text. This wasn’t something she could fix by typing out a couple sentences.

He had to know that she was okay with it, didn’t he? She squeezed her eyes shut as she found herself replaying every interaction she’d ever had with Evan that could have given him any doubt as far as that went.

She opened her eyes and stood up. The crass cartoon was starting to give her a headache. She supposed that was why she was the only adult left in the room. Even Bennie and Jamie had finally moved to the kitchen.

Which was probably yet another way that she was embarrassing Evan.

She picked up her tea and ambled over to the window. It was dark outside. Dark and eerily quiet. 

It was probably always this quiet at night, but it felt eerie since she knew there was a reason it was so silent.

She jumped and dropped her mug when she spotted something gliding across the street. The sound of the mug shattering made the teenagers look at her again. She heard the sofa squeak before Evan jumped up and ran to her.

She heard him breathe in sharply before grabbing his phone. She smiled when she realized what he was doing. 

At least, one of them had the sense to record the figures flying by the house.

Evan frantically waved his phone in the air. Bennie and Jamie dashed over to them and took it from him. Zoe leapt across the room, took one look at the screen, and ran for the door. Bennie’s eyes widened before he took off after her.

Heidi watched the video again. She’d never seen anything like those creatures. They were pale and bald and floating above the ground. It was an understatement to say that the grins etched across their faces were creepy.

Creepy didn’t even begin to cover it.

The door slammed shut as Bennie dragged Zoe back into the house. They stood in the foyer, silently arguing about Zoe’s impulsiveness.

Bennie gestured at Zoe’s bare feet and pointed at the weapon chest by his bookshelf.

Zoe waved at the window and at Evan’s phone and shook her head. She made a face at Bennie before flopping back down on the ground.

Bennie grabbed a sheet of paper off the table and jotted down a note. He held it up for everyone to see.

_Now we have something to go on!_

Heidi suspected he thought that was a lot more comforting than it really was.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thursday, January 4, 2018 8:00 AM**

In the end, Alice was the one who figured it out.

Alana didn’t know why she was surprised. This was the story of her life, wasn’t it? She could work and work and stress over something until she felt like her head was going to explode. She could pour her blood, sweat, and tears into a project and then one of her sisters would come along and swoop in to finish things.

It was the bird bath all over again.

Three years ago, Alana had spent weeks designing and constructing a bird bath for their mother’s birthday. She kept tweaking it because she felt like it wasn’t just right. One day, she casually told her sisters that she felt like it needed a gemstone in the middle.

They went out and got it and sloppily glued it down. That was their only contribution, but they acted like they’d been in on it all along. Their mother had beamed as she thanked all of her girls for the lovely present.

Alana knew this wasn’t the same thing. It wasn’t really like the bird bath. Or their father’s tie rack. Or the ant zapping potion. Or the...

She could go on for an eternity.

It wasn’t like any of those things, but it was frustrating. 

It was frustrating to know that she had stayed up all night combing through books and emailing the coven and clicking around every magic site she had bookmarked. It was frustrating to know that Bennie and Jamie had worn themselves out researching the ghastly-looking men. To know that Tracy had given herself a headache trying to read Latin. To see that the rest of her friends looked exhausted and sick and mad at the world.

And then Alice just popped up from the basement with a book of fairy tales that the twins had found on Bennie’s coffee table and that was that.

At least, it was Alice and not Alicia. Alana was grateful for that. Alicia wouldn’t have been able to let it go. She would have rubbed it in until Alana was fighting the urge to smack her upside the head.

Alice didn’t even seem to get that she’d solved the mystery. She was too busy trying to express her anger at the fact that her children had been looking at a book with extremely gruesome illustrations. Alana finally had to surrender her iPad so that the twins could go watch _PAW Patrol_ and try to forget about the graphic images they’d seen.

It didn’t take Bennie long to piece everything together once he had a name to run with. 

The demons were called the Gentlemen. They travelled from town to town, killing people by removing their hearts while they silently screamed. They needed to collect seven of them in order to stay alive. Weapons couldn’t kill them. They could only be killed by the sound of a human voice. 

Which was why they had made sure that no one in Stormyvale could speak.

Alana felt sick as she scrolled through her newsfeed. 

There had been at least two murders that night. One of them had been right down the street from Bennie’s house. 

Alana could tell the moment Zoe saw that story. Her head shot up furiously and she glared at Bennie like she could have stopped it if he’d let her go.

Bennie shook his head at her and waved the fact sheet he’d typed up for them, but it didn’t seem to matter to Zoe. She folded her arms across her chest and stared up at the ceiling.

Alana decided that was her cue to go downstairs and get some sleep. She yawned and stretched and automatically looked for Tracy.

She tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach when she saw that Tracy was curled up on the couch, sound asleep with her head in her mother’s lap.

She knew she should be happy that Tracy seemed to be getting along with her parents, but she couldn’t help being concerned. She knew from experience that this wouldn’t end well. She had a feeling things would go south for them as soon as they were able to talk to each other again. She didn’t know what Tracy’s parents would think was worse – the fact that their daughter was learning to use magic or the fact that she was dating Alana.

Alana pushed that thought aside as she stood up and followed the boys downstairs. She bit her lip to keep from laughing as Evan and Connor silently debated how to arrange themselves on the floor. She caught Jared’s eye and snorted as they watched them figure out exactly how close they wanted to be while they slept.

Alana rolled her eyes when she realized they wouldn’t be solving that problem anytime soon. She settled herself down in the back of the room and blinked up at the ceiling. She willed her mind to stop spinning so that she could finally get some rest.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thursday, January 4, 2018 8:00 PM**

Zoe couldn’t breathe.

She could feel her eyes tearing up as she struggled to break free from the minions’ grasp.

Not again. This was not happening again.

At least there wasn’t any water in the tower. Zoe was extremely grateful for that.

Zoe stomped on their feet and headbutted the one holding her neck as hard as she could. She gasped for air when he let go. She was almost able to get one arm free when two other minions ran over to help hold her down.

How were these things so strong? They didn’t look like they should be this strong. They looked like they belonged in a horror movie. 

A really bad horror movie that took place in an insane asylum. She was seriously wondering what the deal was with the straitjackets. 

Zoe’s heart began to pound when she realized that two of the Gentlemen were floating towards her. She swallowed nervously when she saw the knives in their hands. She had to get away. She had to...

A flare gun went off somewhere to her right. It didn’t hurt any of the demons, but it scared her captors enough that she was finally able to break free.

Zoe ran across the rafters and looked down below. Bennie was halfway up the stairs, looking around wildly while he anxiously hit the flare gun against his leg. Jamie was in the middle of casting a spell of some kind. 

Zoe jumped down from the rafters and landed next to her aunt. She glanced at her as though to ask, “Anything?”

Jamie shook her head and closed her eyes as she waved her arms in the air.

Zoe wished she could curse out loud. Cursing in her head just wasn’t as effective.

The box had to be here somewhere. This was obviously their home base. Where else would they have stored the box containing everyone’s voices?

The curses in her head grew louder as she realized she didn’t have time to think about that. She automatically shifted into a fighting stance as she waited for the onslaught to begin again.

 

**Thursday, January 4, 2018 8:05 PM**

Connor was seriously starting to wonder if Alana had been adopted.

Or maybe Alicia was the one who had been adopted.

Alana’s brother seemed to be intelligent and Alice was...

She didn’t seem particularly smart, but she was definitely smarter than Alicia.

Connor was willing to bet that Alice was smart enough not to let a pair of demons and their minions into Bennie’s house.

If for no other reason than the fact that she seemed to be an overbearingly overprotective mother.

And to think Zoe had insisted they all stay put so they’d be safe. 

They weren’t safe just then. 

Most of them weren’t anyway. They’d managed to bolt the basement door shut so that half their group was out of harm’s way.

The ones who’d stayed upstairs may have outnumbered the demons, but they were definitely lacking in skills.

There was a part of Connor that was glad Zoe wasn’t there to witness this. He knew she would never let any of them go patrolling with her again if she saw how quickly the room had dissolved into chaos. It was like they’d all forgotten everything Bennie had attempted to teach them.

Alana was huddled in the corner, staring at her hands and shaking and... Okay, there was a slight chance she may be attempting to cast a spell. Connor decided it was probably best to let her be for a bit.

Tracy was standing on the sofa, throwing shoes at the demons. 

Shoes. She was literally throwing shoes. Connor had no idea where she’d gotten them from or how she’d managed to collect so many.

Jared had somehow managed to obtain a baseball bat and was swinging it around wildly. Connor had yet to see him hit anything other than a statue on the mantel. 

And Evan was... 

A lightning bolt of pure panic struck Connor when he saw that Evan had been pinned down by the minions. He balled his hands into fists as he watched one of the Gentlemen float towards Evan.

He frantically looked around for a weapon of some kind. The weapon chest was across the room. Evan would be dead before he got to it. 

Connor ran forward without thinking. If he could get to Evan, he could try to pull one of the demons off and-

Connor came to a stop as Evan’s mom suddenly popped up behind the minions. His eyes widened as she smashed a lamp on one of their heads.

The sound of the lamp breaking must have triggered something in Jared because it looked like he was finally able to focus on what he was doing with the bat. He quickly leapt over to Evan and whacked the other minion as hard as he could.

Something hard flew across the room and hit Connor’s back. He spun around to see a shoe on the ground behind him. He looked around a moment before he realized that Tracy had joined Alana in the corner. 

Alana mouthed the words as she motioned for him to get down. Connor didn’t need to be told twice. He dropped to the ground and watched as the weapon chest slowly, hesitantly opened.

Connor blinked and turned to face Alana and Tracy. They were holding hands and staring at the trunk with a level of concentration he’d never seen on either of them.

For a moment, nothing happened. Connor’s heart began to race as the minions stood up and staggered forward again.

A sudden whooshing sound filled the room as every knife inside the chest soared through the air towards the demons.

One of the minions fell to the ground as a knife landed in its neck. The other one slumped against the wall and trembled in agony as it gestured at the knife in its chest.

The Gentlemen were left unharmed. They didn’t seem to be at all bothered by the knives sticking out of their bodies. They simply looked at each other and continued to grin as they floated towards Alana and Tracy.

 

**Thursday, January 4, 2018 8:10 PM**

The box was on a table by the window.

Zoe spotted it in mid-spin. She kicked the minion she was fighting hard enough to make him sail through the air and took off towards the table.

Bennie caught her eye and nodded knowingly when he saw what she was after. He ran over to try and cover her.

It didn’t take long for him to be overwhelmed though. Zoe looked down and saw that Jamie was surrounded too.

She kept going. She kept moving until the demons managed to block her path. She clenched her teeth and looked up. 

There was a sandbag hanging over the table. If she could knock that down, she could smash the box.

She had one shot. She knew that. She only had one knife in the pouch around her waist. If she missed...

Zoe smothered that thought and reached for the knife. She lifted her arm as the minions went for her again. She squinted her eyes and took a breath and aimed.

The sandbag toppled down and landed heavily on the box.

Zoe screamed. She opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could.

 

**Thursday, January 4, 2018 8:11 PM**

Evan grimaced as he wiped the green slime off his shirt.

Better demon slime than his blood, he supposed.

Zoe’s mission must have been successful. He assumed it had been, seeing as how the Gentlemen’s heads had just exploded. Literally exploded.

“I hope you all plan to have this place cleaned up before my brother comes home,” Elizabeth said as she strolled into the room. She wrinkled her nose at the mess before continuing on towards the stairs.

“Alicia will take care of that,” Alana announced.

“What?” Alicia shrieked. Her head hit the table as she tried to scramble out of her hiding place. “That’s not fair!”

Evan shook his head as the sisters continued to argue. He smiled when he saw Connor approaching him. “Hey, are you-”

Evan laughed into the kiss. It took him a second to catch on, to realize what was happening.

He hoped Connor didn’t think he was laughing at him.

That was the last full thought he had for a minute. Or two. Or...

He didn’t know. 

He didn’t really know how long they went on like that. He didn’t know what they were doing. Not exactly anyway. His hands kept flopping around and it was awkward. A good kind of awkward, he thought, but awkward nonetheless. 

He quickly sucked in a breath when they pulled apart. He could feel his face heating up as he suddenly remembered that they weren’t the only ones in the room.

“Uh, so, you’re, uh,” Connor started. He gently reached out to touch Evan’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Evan nodded swiftly. “They didn’t get me.”

“So, you’re okay?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded again. He looked up and tried to smile when he realized that question had multiple meanings. “I’m totally okay.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Thursday, January 4, 2018 10:30 PM**

Alana gasped as Alan suddenly slammed on the brakes. “What the-”

“Does your girlfriend have a death wish?” Alan chuckled. He shook his head as Tracy ran around the car and tried to get in.

Alana tilted her head at Tracy as she slid in the backseat. “What’re you doing?”

“What do you mean what am I doing?” Tracy frowned.

“I thought you said you were going home,” Alana reminded her.

“I am,” Tracy said. “Did you expect me to walk there?”

“But your parents...” Alana stopped speaking when she saw the look on Tracy’s face.

“Okay,” Alan said slowly. “You know, I think I left something at Bennie’s.”

Alana blinked as her brother put the car in park and opened his door. “What?”

“I left something at Bennie’s,” Alan repeated. 

“What did you leave?”

Alan rolled his eyes at her. “Okay, the subtle approach isn’t working. I’m going back to Bennie’s for a few minutes so you guys can talk this out without anyone eavesdropping.”

Alana waited until he was gone before turning around to face Tracy. “So, by home, you meant-”

“My parents’ house hasn’t felt like home for years,” Tracy whispered. “I thought you knew that.”

“I did-I do,” Alana stammered. “I just-”

“I’m glad they came to Bennie’s. I’m glad they’re okay, but I’m not going back with them.”

“Okay,” Alana nodded. “It just... It kind of looked like you all were...”

“It’s better for all of us if I only visit once in a while,” Tracy explained. “That way, they can keep thinking of me as their good, well-behaved daughter who is in no way a witch.”

“Or gay,” Alana smirked.

“You know, I don’t think they’d care about that nearly as much as the witch part,” Tracy said thoughtfully. “But, yeah, it’s probably best to let them think what they want to think.”

“I’m sorry,” Alana muttered.

“Don’t be,” Tracy shrugged. “We can’t all have parents like yours.”

“Right,” Alana laughed. 

She knew she was lucky. Her parents had been so excited to hear that she was dating Tracy that they’d wanted to throw them a party.

“Your parents are still cool with me staying there, aren’t they?” Tracy bit her lip nervously.

“Yeah, of course,” Alana assured her. “You know that’s why they finally caved and fixed the basement, don’t you?”

“I figured,” Tracy grinned.

Alana’s parents were cool about a lot of things, but they put their foot down when it came to any of their children sharing a room with their significant others. There was a part of Alana that wanted to argue that point. She knew the rule existed because of Alice. Part of Alana longed to point out that Alice had managed to get knocked up without sharing a room with her boyfriend.

And that there was no way either she or Tracy could get pregnant.

Not unless someone hit them with a really freaky curse.

“So,” Tracy went on. “I was thinking...”

“Yeah?”

“We should try more spells.” Tracy smiled when she saw the confusion on Alana’s face. “Together. Like what we did with the knives. I bet we could actually be halfway decent at this if we, uh, joined forces... Is that the right term?”

“I don’t know,” Alana said uncertainly. She didn’t know if there was a term for it, but she liked the idea. She liked the rush she’d gotten from casting a spell with Tracy. “But, yeah, let’s do that.”

“Really?” 

“Really,” Alana agreed.

 

**Friday, January 5, 2018 6:00 AM**

Evan yawned and stretched his arms above his head as he stumbled into the kitchen. He spotted his mother sitting at the table and grumbled something at her that may or may not have been a greeting.

He really was too tired to tell. 

Heidi glanced up from her phone long enough to smile at his exhaustion. “School’s closed today.”

Evan froze with his hand on the counter. “Huh?”

“They decided to keep the schools closed in case the laryngitis epidemic isn’t really over.”

“Oh,” Evan nodded. He yawned and blinked at the door.

“So, you can go back to sleep,” Heidi said softly.

“Yeah,” Evan nodded again. He made a face as his stomach growled. When was the last time he ate? He couldn’t remember. He’d shared a pop tart with Connor...

Yesterday afternoon? Was that right?”

“Cereal, then sleep,” Evan decided.

“Cereal, then sleep,” Heidi agreed. She put her phone down when he joined her at the table. “You know, I seriously considered bringing out the old sex binder for this.”

Evan started coughing ferociously as his cereal went down the wrong pipe. “Wh-what?”

“Shit, honey,” Heidi laughed. “I’m sorry. In my defense, that really sounded like a much better ice breaker in my head.”

Evan continued to pound his fist against his chest as he blinked up at her. “I hid that thing!”

“In the crawl space behind the furnace,” Heidi nodded. “Along with your frisbee and the sailor cap your grandmother sent you.”

Evan’s head shook as he continued to blink at her. “How did you-”

“You really were not a sneaky child, Evan,” Heidi laughed.

Evan scratched at his neck as he stirred his cereal. “Oh...”

“I was thinking about the binder this morning,” Heidi continued. “I meant for it to be helpful and I know you didn’t see it that way, but...” Heidi took a breath and folded her hands in front of her. “I should’ve made it more inclusive. I realize now that there were a number of things I didn’t cover.”

“That’s really okay,” Evan assured her quickly. “I mean, really-”

He shuddered at the thought of the binder. It hadn’t really been that bad, he supposed. He knew she’d meant well. She’d thought it was a good idea to give him a binder filled with the answers to every question she thought he might ask.

Every question that he’d be too embarrassed to ask. Every question that she wouldn’t be around to answer.

He hadn’t really minded it until Jared came over and saw it.

And that had been the end of that.

“You know I just want you to be happy, don’t you?” 

Evan glanced up and nodded. “Yeah...”

“I mean it,” Heidi insisted. “It’s true what they say. You really are only as happy as your least happy child.”

Evan bit his lip to resist the urge to say that she must’ve been miserable for the last few years then.

“And Connor,” Heidi went on. She stopped speaking when she caught his eye. 

Evan could feel his face heating up. “What about him?”

He stared at his bowl when she looked at him expectantly. They hadn’t been at all subtle. He knew she’d seen them holding hands. And their kiss...kisses...

Those had been out in the open as well.

“We’re not pretending anymore,” Evan finally admitted.

“Okay,” Heidi nodded.

Evan glanced at her suspiciously. He’d expected more of a reaction than that. The way she’d looked at him when she saw they were holding hands...

He didn’t know what that look meant. It hadn’t been good. He didn’t think she had a problem with things like that, but...

“And he makes you happy?” Heidi wondered.

Evan blinked as he thought about that. “Yeah, I mean it’s new, but...”

“And you don’t need me to update the sex binder?”

Evan’s head shot up at that. He made a face when he saw that his mother was silently laughing.

“Then that’s all I need to know,” Heidi finished. 

Evan let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He busied himself by pouring another glass of juice.

“I need to go,” Heidi sighed. “My shift starts in...” She wrinkled her nose when she saw the time. “There shouldn’t be too many cars on the road today, right?”

“I guess?” Evan shrugged.

“I’ll be home for dinner,” Heidi told him. “Will you be here?”

“Um,” Evan started. He hadn’t gotten that far in his thinking. He was mainly thinking about sleeping and... He didn’t know what else he was going to do that day.

“I’ll get Chinese,” Heidi decided.

“Okay,” Evan agreed. He smiled up at his mother as she squeezed his shoulder and headed for the door.

 

**Friday, January 5, 2018 4:00 PM**

Jared froze in his tracks and looked around anxiously when he reached the break room. “What’re you doing here?”

“I came to see you,” Zoe said.

“Yeah, I figured,” Jared replied. “I mean, what are you doing in here? This room’s for staff members only.”

“What’re you going to do? Tell your manager? Have me banned from the theater for life?”

She stared down at her hands and took a breath. “I’d deserve that, wouldn’t I?”

Jared frowned as he sat down across from her. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been making the rounds all afternoon,” Zoe explained. “Apologizing to everyone... I saved you for last because...”

Jared shrugged when she didn’t go on. “It’s fine. You don’t have to apologize.”

“No, I do,” Zoe insisted. “I was... I know I was horrible to everyone, especially you.”

Jared made a face and nodded slightly. He couldn’t disagree with that.

“I just... I don’t know,” Zoe sighed. “Connor and Jamie... They told my parents they think I’m suffering from PTSD.”

Jared blinked as he stared down at his hands. That made sense when he thought about it. She’d been through something terrible. Something truly, completely terrible. It made sense that she’d been having trouble coming to terms with it.

“I don’t know if that’s better or worse than being possessed,” Jared joked.

“Me neither,” Zoe laughed. She pushed her hair behind her ears and took a breath. “Bennie’s trying to find someone trustworthy for me to talk to. Someone in the, uh, in the mental health field who knows about all of this.”

“Okay,” Jared nodded. “That’s good, right?”

“Yeah,” Zoe muttered. “Hopefully.”

Zoe cleared her throat and slid her jacket back on. “So, I guess I should head out then. Let you enjoy the rest of your break in peace.”

“You want to stay and watch something?” Jared offered.

“Um,” Zoe blinked. “Sure. I can go get a ticket and-”

“Don’t bother,” Jared grinned. “Didn’t you notice how empty it is out there?”

Zoe bit her lip as she thought about that. “There was no one at the ticket counter when I came in.”

“I’m the only one working, besides Bill and he’s holed up in his office. No one’s really felt like coming here since the whole Amy thing.”

“Oh,” Zoe nodded. “Right.”

“And now there’s the so-called laryngitis thing on top of that. I have a feeling it’ll be a few weeks before there’s a high demand for tickets here.”

“So, what do you want to watch?” Zoe rolled her eyes when she saw his face. “No! Not _Star Wars_ again...”

“Come on,” Jared begged. “I can commentate on it this time. Fill you in on everything you’re missing.”

Zoe shook her head as she let out an exasperated breath. “Fine, but you’re buying the popcorn.”

“What part of this aren’t you getting?” Jared scoffed. “We have access to an unlimited supply of free stale popcorn and watered-down sodas.”

“All right,” Zoe relented. “But, if we make this a double feature, I’m choosing the next movie.”

“Deal,” Jared beamed. “So, where should I start? Do you want to know about the original casting process or should I skip ahead to the new movies?”

“Can’t you wait until we sit down?” Zoe sighed when he narrowed his eyes at her. “Stupid question.”

“Okay,” Jared continued. “So, originally...”

 

**Friday, January 5, 2018 5:00 PM**

The silence was starting to get to Connor. The awkward, horrible silence that had engulfed them as soon as Zoe left.

He knew the room wasn’t really silent. They were watching a movie. Theoretically watching a movie. He didn’t think that either of them was actually paying attention to it.

“What time did you say your mom will be back?” Connor wondered.

“She gets off at 5:15,” Evan said. “And then she has to pick up the food, so six, maybe?”

“You want to make out until she gets here?”

Connor forced out a laugh when he saw the way Evan was staring at him. “Shit... That was a joke.”

“Oh,” Evan muttered.

Connor tilted his head as he looked at Evan again. Was it his imagination or did Evan actually look disappointed?

“Unless you don’t want it to be,” Connor smirked.

“Um,” Evan chuckled. He tugged at the collar on his shirt and blinked at the TV so quickly that Connor wondered if he was going to hurt his eyes.

“We really need to work on this,” Connor sighed. 

“Yeah,” Evan agreed. “Practice makes perfect.”

He snorted when he realized what he’d said.

“Okay,” Connor nodded. “So-”

“Wait,” Evan hissed.

Connor frowned as he watched him reach for his phone.

“I’m setting an alarm,” Evan explained.

“What?” Connor laughed.

“If we’re doing this...” Evan’s face flushed as he fumbled with his phone. “We are not going to be making out when my mom walks in. She’ll bring the sex binder out for sure if she sees that.”

Connor didn’t know which part of that was harder for him to process – the alarm or the...

“Sex binder?” Connor sputtered.

If Evan’s face had been red before, that was nothing compared to this.

“That’s not important,” Evan finally mumbled.

Connor decided he didn’t want to know. Not at that moment anyway. 

“Okay,” Connor shook his head. “Alarm’s set?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “For 5:40, to play it safe.”

“Next time, we’re doing this at my house,” Connor announced.

Evan opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was going to say was lost as Connor pulled him close.


	8. Chapter 8

**Saturday, February 3, 2018 6:00 PM**

Zoe shuddered as she walked into the kitchen. “Why didn’t you warn me?”

“Warn you about...” Jared’s face lit up knowingly. “You saw them too, huh?”

“Why didn’t you warn me?” Zoe moaned. “I could’ve gone my whole life without seeing that.”

“What was I supposed to do?” Jared chuckled. “Shout up the stairs that you should avoid looking in the living room?”

“You could’ve texted me to take the other stairs,” Zoe pointed out.

“Eh,” Jared shrugged. “So, are you going to go get them or...”

Zoe shook her irritably. “You’re kidding, right? I’m not interrupting that!”

“You know, I’m really starting to miss the good old days when they were so awkward around each other that it was almost painful to watch.”

Zoe sighed and gripped her bag a bit tighter. “You ready?”

“To patrol?” Jared grinned. “Always.”

Zoe rolled her eyes and led the way outside. She lowered her bag so that should pretend to rifle through it while they walked.

She was starting to get what it must’ve been like to be Connor and Evan before they figured out... whatever it was they’d figured out.

Awkwardness. She knew it well.

She didn’t know what was going on with Jared. They were friends, but was that it? She didn’t know. She liked him. She was pretty sure she did anyway. And she knew he liked her. She’d heard him say that to Evan after... on Christmas. She’d heard them talking about her on Christmas.

And they’d kissed. Twice. Technically more than twice, but on two different occasions. She kind of felt like the last time didn’t really count though because she hadn’t been herself.

Part of her felt like she still wasn’t herself. She was getting there though. The therapy was helping. It helped to patrol, to stay active and busy. It helped her to do things that kept her from feeling useless and powerless and every other --less word she knew.

“They were, weren’t they?”

Zoe’s face scrunched up as she turned to look at Jared. “What?”

It suddenly dawned on her that he’d been talking almost non-stop since they left the house and she... She’d been too busy staring at a bottle of holy water to listen to a word he’d said.

“Evan and Connor,” Jared said. “They were still... They were still dressed, weren’t they?”

Zoe let out a startled snort and nodded. “Yeah, fully dressed. Trust me when I say you would’ve heard me screaming if they hadn’t been.”

“Good,” Jared sighed. “I swear, if Evan Hansen gets laid before I do, I’m going to...”

Zoe laughed and looked away when he realized what he was saying.

Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who found their situation uncomfortable.

“You don’t have to worry about that as long as they stay downstairs,” Zoe grinned. “Connor knows our mother will kill him if they get any bodily fluids on the couch.”

Zoe reached for her bag again while Jared gaped at her in amazement.

Okay, so, talking about her brother’s relationship with her sort of-not really-boyfriend’s best friend, probably not the best way to end the awkwardness.

“Okay, new topic,” Zoe decided.

“New topic,” Jared agreed. 

He looked at her expectantly. Zoe wrinkled her nose as she realized she really should’ve thought of something before she’d suggested changing subjects.

“So, uh...” Zoe bit her lip and stared at the sky. “Crazy weather we’ve been...” She came to a stop when she saw that Jared was peering down an alley. “What-”

Jared put up a hand to shush her. Zoe stepped forward and craned her neck to see what he was staring at.

Her eyes widened with realization. They both jumped when the door slammed shut at the end of the alley.

“Henry and Elizabeth?” Zoe whispered.

“What do you think they’re doing together?” Jared hissed.

Zoe shook her head dazedly. “I don’t know.”

Jared shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. “Should we tell Bennie?”

Zoe blinked as she tried to process what she’d seen. Her Watcher’s sister was skulking around dark alleys and hanging out with vampires. A vampire. At least one. Zoe had a feeling Henry wasn’t the only one in that building though.

Zoe didn't want to think about what this meant. Her Watcher’s sister who used to be a vampire, who had been mysteriously resurrected, who was quite possibly holding a grudge against Bennie for killing her, was sneaking around with at least one known vampire.

“I don’t know,” Zoe finally said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Saturday, February 10, 2018 10:00 PM**

Tracy clapped her hands and smirked when she saw where Jared had landed. “That’s mine. Pay up!”

Jared scowled as Connor started laughing at him. “Okay, seriously, are you using your witchy powers to help you win?”

“Witchy powers?” Tracy giggled. 

“You know what I mean,” Jared groaned. He wrinkled his nose and handed her a stack of bills.

“For the last time, I am not using magic to beat you at Monopoly,” Tracy said solemnly. It took every ounce of her self-control not to laugh as he narrowed his eyes at her.

Connor gently prodded Evan’s shoulder and nodded at the board. “It’s your turn.”

Evan blinked as he looked up from his laptop. “Again?”

“Funny how that keeps happening, huh?” Connor grinned.

Tracy leaned back against the couch while Evan rolled the dice. She was starting to feel like they should restart the game. Only half of them were actually paying attention to it. Evan was working on an extra credit assignment for Environmental Science, which really didn’t make sense since Tracy was pretty sure he was at the top of their class. She had a feeling he was mainly doing it for fun. 

Connor had been taking Zoe’s turns for her because she’d gotten sucked into a YouTube spiral and had been watching martial arts videos for the past hour. Tracy wasn’t sure what that was about and she was kind of scared to ask. Zoe didn’t seem like she was enjoying the videos. She kept alternating between glaring at the screen and looking like she was going to cry. That was the part that worried Tracy. She looked away when Connor caught her watching his sister. She wondered if Alana knew what was going on and if she’d tell her when they went home.

If it had been anyone else, Tracy would have assumed that they had no clue what was happening. She knew how Alana’s brain worked though. Alana may have been multitasking and working on at least three different projects on her laptop, but she probably still knew more than Tracy. She almost definitely did.

“Why don’t you give it a rest, Zo?” Connor suggested. He tried to take the tablet out of his sister’s hands, but she hugged it to her chest before he could.

“I don’t get it,” Zoe muttered. “She was so strong. She could... I can’t do these things now and she could before she was the Slayer!”

Tracy swallowed sharply as she realized what Zoe was watching.

The other Slayer, the one in Japan, was dead. The Council had emailed Bennie about it that morning. 

“Look at her,” Zoe went on. “She trained her whole life. She had this channel and she put all her tournaments on it and all these people followed her and thought she was amazing and... She didn’t even last two months.”

Zoe dropped the tablet in her lap and shook her head. “I should’ve contacted her. I should’ve tried to-”

“She didn’t speak English,” Connor reminded her.

“I know, but-”

“And you don’t speak Japanese.”

“I know,” Zoe snapped. “I could’ve tried to...” She turned to face Tracy and Alana. “There are spells, aren’t there? Spells that can translate what you’re saying?”

“I don’t know,” Alana said uncertainly. “Probably, but-”

“I’ll talk to the next one,” Zoe said firmly. “I don’t care where she is or what language she speaks. I’m going to help her.”

“Okay,” Connor nodded. “You’ll help her, but, in the meantime, do you think maybe you should stop the videos for a bit?”

Zoe pulled herself off the ground and stared at the door. “Is there any more pizza?”

The sound of the front door shutting made them jump. Evan stood up and went to check the hall. Tracy heard him whisper the word ‘mom’ before he dashed back into the room.

“Your mom’s home?” Connor asked.

Evan nodded rapidly. His eyes were wide and his face was as white as a sheet.

Tracy caught Alana’s eye and shrugged. She knew she was missing something again, but she could tell she wasn’t the only one this time.

It didn’t take long for her to fill in the blanks. Tracy stared at her hands when Evan’s mother appeared in the doorway. She had a feeling she knew what had spooked Evan when she spotted the man hovering in the background.

“I didn’t realize you had company,” Heidi said lightly. “I thought you said you were going to Jared’s tonight.”

“I-I was,” Evan stammered. “We, uh, we-”

“We had a slight change of plans,” Jared filled in. “My parents are hosting one of their meetings at our house tonight, so we all decided to come here instead.”

“I texted you!” Evan blurted out. He collapsed onto the couch and slouched over to rest his head on his hands.

Heidi bit her lip as she reached into her purse. “Oh... I must’ve forgotten to turn my phone back on after the movie.”

“Movie?” Evan squeaked. He leaned forward to look past his mother.

“I’m going to walk Geoff out,” Heidi said. She glanced around the room anxiously. “Are you all leaving soon or...”

“We should go,” Alana decided. She snapped her laptop shut and nodded at Tracy. “It’s getting late.”

“Yeah,” Jared quickly agreed. “My parents are probably wondering where I am.”

“Ours too,” Zoe sighed. She looked at Connor expectantly, but he was too busy watching Evan to notice.

Heidi nodded slightly and led Geoff to the door. Tracy could feel the tension in the room decrease as soon as they were gone.

“So, good news,” Alana said brightly. “He has a reflection.”

“What?” Evan choked. His eyes bulged when he realized what she meant. “You think he’s a demon?”

“What?” Alana laughed. “No... I just... It was a joke.”

“You think she’s dating a...” Evan ran a hand through his hair as he gaped at the door. “There are other kinds, aren’t there? Other demons that look like humans? What if he’s one of them? What if-”

“He could be a robot,” Alana said thoughtfully. She recoiled when she saw the look on Connor’s face. “I’m not trying to... I’m just saying, last year Lilly from our coven went out with this guy who turned out to be a serial killer robot.”

Tracy shook her head at Alana. Connor wasn’t the only one glaring at her now.

“The odds of that happening again have to be low though,” Alana continued quickly. “Really low.”

Tracy grabbed Alana’s arm and gestured at the door. 

Alana shrugged apologetically. “I doubt you have anything to worry about. He’s probably just a guy.”

“A guy who’s dating my mom,” Evan whispered.

Tracy looked over her shoulder once as they headed for the door. She watched as Connor sat down next to Evan and put an arm around him. She watched as Zoe texted her aunt for advice on how to tell if someone was really a demon in disguise. She watched as Jared made what had to be the worst joke she’d ever heard. It made Evan snort though, which was probably the point.

She watched as Alana turned to frown at the group.

“Do you think we should stay?” Alana asked. “Maybe we should-”

Tracy shook her head again. “I think you’ve said enough for tonight.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Sunday, February 11, 2018 11:00 AM**

“Evan again?”

Jamie nodded without looking up from her phone. 

“What does he want to know now?” Bennie wondered.

“He wants to know if there’s a potion that can show whether someone is a demon. He’s thinking there might be something he can spill on Geoff that will turn green if he isn't human.”

Jamie sighed as she stared at the screen. She didn’t know how many other ways there were to tell Evan that there wasn’t a simple test that would indicate whether or not someone was a demon.

Which actually wasn’t completely true. It was easier to say than to tell the truth though. There were some things that could work. She could think of a few spells that may help, but she knew that none of them would really tell him what he wanted to know.

The spells wouldn’t show whether his mother’s date had good intentions. Because that was the thing. Not all demons were bad, just like not all humans were good.

“Zoe will be here any minute,” Bennie said anxiously.

“I know,” Jamie nodded.

“Have you decided if you’re going to tell her?”

“You really need to stop being scared of your Slayer,” Jamie smirked.

“I’m not scared of her,” Bennie huffed. “I just think she’ll take it better if she hears it from you.”

“Why?”

“Because... Because it’s a girl thing, isn’t it?”

“It’s a Slayer thing,” Jamie reminded him.

“But it involves her former best friend and-”

“If you say girl drama again...”

Bennie closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “Zoe talks while we train. Not always, but... She says things. When we first started, it was always Nicole this and Nicole that and-and the other two... What’re their names?”

“Maya and Jenny,” Jamie nodded.

“See,” Bennie beamed. “You know their names. You know more than I do... You know Nicole.”

“I haven’t seen her in years.”

“Still. I don’t know her at all. She isn’t in any of my music classes.” Bennie looked at her curiously. “What’s she like?”

Jamie took a breath while she thought about that. “I don’t know, honestly. It’s probably been five, maybe six, years since I last saw her.”

Jamie tapped her fingers on the table and gazed at the clock. “She used to come with us whenever I took Zoe and Connor out. Back when I used to try to earn the title of ‘cool aunt’ by doing things with them when I came to town. I always said they could each bring a friend and Zoe always brought Nicole.

“Until, um,” Jamie shook her head slightly. “Until Cynthia said she’d told them I was no longer allowing friends to come along.”

“Why’d she do that?”

Jamie quickly dropped her gaze. “Because of Connor. Because she thought it was upsetting him that he didn’t have anyone to ask. So...” She took a breath and shrugged. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Nicole.”

Jamie stared at her hands as they tapped against the table. That memory always made her feel guilty. She still felt bad for not realizing why Connor never brought anyone with him.

She’d always thought it was because of her. Because he liked spending time with his favorite aunt. The two of them would hang out and talk about books while Zoe and Nicole ran off and scared themselves by looking at the snakes or got into trouble for laughing at the naked statues.

Connor had thought that she had the coolest job in the world when he was a kid. He would tell her that was his dream - to spend his days surrounded by books. He would talk about the characters he read about like they were his friends. He didn’t say it, but Jamie always felt like she was probably the only person in his life who understood how that felt.

Which was why it bothered her that she’d missed the fact that he didn’t have any real friends. She’d noticed that he didn’t chime in when Zoe filled her in on all the playground gossip, but she hadn’t thought it meant anything. She should’ve known though. She should’ve recognized the signs. She knew what it was like to feel like you didn’t fit in, like you couldn’t fit in even if you tried. It had been the story of her life until she went to college and made friends who accepted her, quirks and all.

She knew she’d been a different kind of outsider than Connor though. She’d been the invisible kind. The kind who desperately wanted to be invisible so that Amy and her friends would leave her alone. The kind who kept her head down and tried to focus solely on the things that mattered to her. The kind who had just wanted to make it through high school so that she could move on with her life.

Jamie glanced up when she heard Zoe at the door. She rolled her eyes when she saw the pleading look on Bennie’s face. 

“Send her in,” Jamie sighed. “I’ll talk to her first.”

Bennie bowed his head gratefully and went to let Zoe in.

Jamie straightened herself up and tried to smile as Zoe stepped into the room.

Zoe eyed her suspiciously. “Bennie said you wanted to talk to me?”

Jamie nodded and gestured at the chair across from her. “We heard from the Council last night. They’ve identified the new Slayer.”

“Oh,” Zoe muttered. She glanced over her shoulder quickly before leaning forward so that her face was mere inches away from Jamie’s. “How well do you know Elizabeth?”

Jamie’s face scrunched up in surprise. “What?”

“Before he comes back,” Zoe hissed. “Elizabeth. How well do you know her?”

“I don’t really know her at all,” Jamie said slowly. “She was... She was already gone by the time I met Bennie. I heard stories about her, but that’s it. I’ve known her as long as you have.”

“Okay,” Zoe nodded. “I think she’s-”

Zoe’s mouth snapped shut when she saw Bennie standing in the doorway.

“I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready to train,” Bennie told her. Jamie shook her head when he glanced at her expectantly.

“You think she’s what?” Jamie asked.

“Not now,” Zoe decided. “Can I come to your place later?”

“Of course,” Jamie said. She took a breath as she debated how to phrase this. “Though, if you want to get to know Elizabeth, I have a feeling you’ll be getting the chance soon.”

“What do you mean?” Zoe frowned.

“The new Slayer lives in Stormyvale too.”

“She does?” Zoe gasped. 

Jamie nodded swiftly. “The Council’s decided to make Elizabeth her Watcher since she’s already here.”

“Oh,” Zoe muttered. “Okay. But, uh, that might not be...” Zoe’s eyes narrowed when she saw Jamie’s expression. “Who is it?”

“What?”

“The new Slayer. Do I know her?”

“You could say that,” Jamie smiled grimly. “You used to call her your best friend.”

A hand shot up to Zoe’s mouth as she let out a startled laugh. “Nicole?”

Jamie nodded stiffly. “The one and only.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Sunday, February 11, 2018 5:30 PM**

Nicole groaned as she threw the fragments of the pencil against the wall.

She didn’t understand how this kept happening. That was the fourth pencil she’d managed to break since she’d started her Algebra homework twenty minutes ago. It was getting ridiculous. The pencils looked like the ones her mom usually bought. She wondered if the manufacturers had started using cheap materials or maybe her mom had gotten them from the dollar store. This was shaping up to be the Great Lotion Fiasco of 2016 all over again.

At least this time she wouldn’t end up with a rash that covered half her body.

Or so she hoped.

Nicole spun around in her chair when she heard someone rapping on her door. 

“Hey, Mattie,” she greeted. 

“Hey,” Mattie said. “I’m going to Tyler’s.”

“Okay,” Nicole nodded. “Just make sure you’re back before they get home.”

Mattie nodded swiftly. “There’s someone here to see you.”

“Who?” Nicole asked curiously. She leaned forward to look, but she couldn’t see past her brother.

Mattie glanced over his shoulder before rushing over to her desk. “I let her in before I remembered what you said...” Mattie’s cheeks puffed out as he stared at his feet. “You want me to tell her you’re sleeping?”

“Who?” Nicole asked again.

“Zoe,” Mattie muttered.

“Zoe?” Nicole scoffed. She shook her head as she stood up to see. “No. It’s fine.”

“You sure?” Mattie asked shrilly. “Because I can-”

“No, go see Tyler,” Nicole chuckled. “I’ll be okay.”

Mattie nodded eagerly and ran out of the room. Nicole rolled her eyes when she saw him wave at Zoe as he went by. Her brother had always had a not-so-secret crush on her best friend.

Former best friend. 

Nicole narrowed her eyes as Zoe stepped forward. She leaned against the desk and raised an eyebrow. 

She could tell that Zoe was uncomfortable standing there. She wasn’t about to make it easy for her.

It was weird for her too though. She swallowed sharply and looked away.

A year ago, Zoe would have come right in and flopped on her bed and they would’ve instantly launched into a breathless conversation about whatever was weighing on their minds.

That Zoe was dead now, as far as Nicole was concerned. She didn’t know the person standing before her.

“Can we talk?” Zoe quietly asked.

Nicole shrugged and sat down at her desk.

Zoe nodded slightly and glanced around the room. Her eyes widened when she saw the pencil pieces on Nicole’s desk. “What did they do to deserve that?”

Nicole folded her arms across her chest. “What do you want?”

“To talk,” Zoe maintained. “I-”

“You want to talk?” Nicole laughed harshly. “To me? Wow. Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

“I know I haven’t been around much lately.”

“Lately? Try the last year,” Nicole snapped. “You disappeared on us. You ditched us. You ditched me.”

“I know it seems that way, but-”

“We were your friends. I was your best friend and you just... I don’t get it.” 

Nicole wanted to ask what she had done, but she stopped herself before the words left her mouth. She wasn’t about to give Zoe the satisfaction of knowing how hard this had been on her. 

Zoe closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall across from Nicole. “I’ve had a lot to deal with this year. It’s been-”

“Hard? You’d think you would’ve wanted to talk to someone about it. Like, oh say, your best friend?”

“Nicole-”

“I defended you, you know.”

“What?” 

“After everything that happened last year, after the gym and... Do you even know what people say about you?”

“I don’t care,” Zoe said firmly.

“Well, you should,” Nicole sneered. “They say horrible things. They say you’re in a gang, that your brother got you hooked on drugs, that you-”

“I’m not here to talk about me,” Zoe cut in.

Nicole didn’t say anything for a moment. She spun around in her chair and shut her math book. 

“Okay,” Nicole said slowly. “I’ll bite. What do you want to talk about?”

Nicole tilted her head when she saw that Zoe’s face was turning white. 

“I should’ve brought Bennie with me,” Zoe muttered.

“Who?” 

“Or Elizabeth. She’s going to be pissed when she hears I talked to you first.”

Nicole swallowed sharply as she tried not to think about what Zoe was saying. It was strange to think that she had no idea who Zoe was talking about. 

“Okay,” Zoe nodded. “I’m just going to say it because that’s what Bennie did.”

“Who’s Bennie?”

“Mr. Benson,” Zoe said absentmindedly. She stared down at her hands while they clenched and unclenched in front of her.

“Mr. Benson,” Nicole repeated. “The band teacher?”

“Yeah,” Zoe said. “He-”

“Wow,” Nicole snorted. “Okay. You know, I didn’t believe that one at all.”

“Believe-”

“I mean, the gang thing was weird, but I don’t know... It made sense because of Connor. Because I’ve heard addictions can be hereditary and I figured he must’ve gotten you hooked on something.... But you’re sleeping with your band teacher?”

“What?” Zoe coughed. “No! Not even a little bit.”

Nicole chuckled dubiously. “You’re in his room all the time.”

“Because-”

“Don’t say because of your band. You know, there are a lot of people who think that’s just a front for something.”

Zoe took a breath before looking up again. “It is.”

Nicole couldn’t hide her surprise. She hadn’t actually expected Zoe to own up to that.

Especially since there weren’t actually that many people who thought that.

It was mainly just Nicole. And sometimes Maya and Jenny, when Nicole was in a particularly convincing mood.

“For what?” Nicole demanded.

“I’m a Vampire Slayer,” Zoe said calmly.

Nicole shook her head sadly. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting. Zoe was obviously losing it. The fact that she’d barely been around, that she kept hanging out with her brother and a couple of twelfth-grade losers and... Alana Beck.

That was the weirdest part. Nicole didn’t get the group Zoe was hanging out with at all. Zoe hated her brother. And Nicole doubted she had anything in common with the other guys.

Or maybe she did. Apparently, she was dating one of them. At least, that’s what Zoe’s mom had told Nicole’s mom when they saw each other at a fundraiser recently.

Because that was the kind of friends they were now. The kind whose mothers exchanged information and relayed it back to their daughters.

“Did you hear me?” Zoe asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Nicole snapped. “Are you high now?”

“What?”

“I mean, did you take something before you came here or-”

“Am I acting like I’m high?”

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Look, I’ll be the first to admit that it’s fun to... I don’t smoke a joint or... whatever at a party, but I’m seriously starting to think you have a problem. Like you should be in counseling or-”

“I’m not on drugs,” Zoe insisted. “I’m a Vampire Slayer.”

“You say that like it’s a thing,” Nicole laughed. “Like vampires are a thing, like they’re real.”

“They are,” Zoe said. She stood up and nodded at the door. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

Nicole shook her head ferociously. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“You need to see this.”

“Why?” 

Zoe bit her lip and looked her in the eye. “Because you’re one too.”

Nicole’s mouth felt dry as she gawked at Zoe. “That’s BS and you know it.”

“It isn’t,” Zoe maintained. “I’ll explain it all later, but first I think you have to see what I’m talking about.”

Nicole didn’t say anything. She simply blinked at the door and hoped that Zoe would take the hint and leave.

“Okay,” Zoe sighed. “Let’s see... I’m guessing you haven’t slept well the past couple nights, that you’ve been having some really crazy dreams.”

Nicole’s eyes widened as she turned to face Zoe again. She shook her head dazedly. “You can see the circles under my eyes?”

“I can’t, actually. You did a good job covering them up today. I know about the dreams because I get them too. They were insanely intense when I was first called.”

Nicole caught her eye and quickly looked away. Her dreams had been weird lately. Insanely intense probably was the best way to describe them.

“You’re starting to notice that you’re stronger than you were before. You’re faster, you have more energy, you-”

“Okay,” Nicole interrupted irritably. “So, what does this mean exactly? And don’t say that it means I’m a Vampire Slayer.” She spat those words like they were venomous. “Because that doesn’t mean anything to me. That doesn’t mean-”

“It means,” Zoe cut in. “It means that you really should come with me now.”

Nicole nodded slightly and stood up. 

Her heart was pounding and she was starting to feel dizzy and every instinct she had was screaming for her to ignore Zoe. 

She was curious though. And her curiosity usually got the best of her.

“Okay,” Nicole decided. “But I’m bringing my pepper spray. If you try to kidnap me and sell me to some dealer to pay off your debts, I’ll...”

Nicole didn’t bother finishing that thought. She didn’t know exactly what she’d do, but she could tell that Zoe understood.

“Okay,” Zoe nodded. “That’s fair.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Sunday, March 4, 2018 6:30 PM**

The room was silent except for the sounds coming from the TV. The explosions and gunshots were starting to give Evan a headache. He struggled to keep his face blank as Jared finally went in for the kill and shot Connor’s character.

He knew that wasn’t going to go over well. He should’ve known it was a bad idea to suggest they play against each other.

It was just that Evan was tired of playing. He was tired of watching Jared gloat when he won. And he was definitely tired of sitting there while the two of them bickered and took turns sniping at each other.

He didn’t expect them to be close, but was it really too much to expect his best friend and his boyfriend to get along?

Probably. It was almost definitely too much.

Especially when they were both in a mood.

Evan knew what was wrong with Jared. He knew that Jared had spent the whole weekend reminding his parents that they couldn’t invite Henry to his birthday party. He knew Jared was frustrated with them for not getting it. 

He also knew there was a part of Jared that wanted Henry there. That there was a part of him that felt like Alana wasn’t trying hard enough to find a spell to fix his brother.

Evan didn’t know if that was true, but he wasn’t about to say that to Jared.

He didn’t know what was up with Connor, but he had a feeling it had something to do with Zoe and Nicole and the vampire nest they’d been planning to take out.

Connor had said he couldn’t come over because he was going with them... and then he’d randomly shown up at Evan’s door in what was by far the worst mood Evan had ever seen him in.

So, the video game thing... Probably not the best idea Evan had ever had.

Evan was seriously considering what the consequences would be if he unplugged his system when he saw his mom standing in the doorway. He leapt off the couch and muttered that he’d be right back. He didn’t think that either of them heard him. He didn’t care enough to check.

His stomach dropped when he followed his mother into the kitchen. She didn’t look like she was in a bad mood, exactly, but something was clearly bothering her. And, from the looks of it, it had something to do with him.

“Do you have any idea why Jamie keeps texting me factoids about demons that can take human form?”

Evan swallowed nervously. “She... What?”

Heidi nodded swiftly. “She has been for weeks, ever since my date with Geoff.”

“So, it was a date,” Evan said without thinking. 

“A date,” Heidi said firmly. “As in one.”

“Okay,” Evan mumbled.

“And he isn’t a demon.”

“You can’t know that,” Evan retorted. “He could be-”

“He’s been friends with Maggie’s brother since they were kids. Don’t you think they would’ve noticed something was off about him by now?”

“Maggie doesn’t know about any of this,” Evan pointed out. “She doesn’t know about demons or the Hellmouth or any of it.”

“No,” Heidi sighed. “But, still, do you really think she would set me up with someone she thought was dangerous?”

Evan stared at his feet and shook his head. “I didn’t tell Jamie to text you. I told her I was worried, but that’s it.”

“Okay, that’s fine, but that’s not what’s really bothering you, is it?” Heidi asked softly.

Evan glanced up quickly. “What?”

“I know that was a surprise for you. I’ve always tried to keep that part of my life separate from-”

“That part?” Evan choked out. “You mean...”

He couldn’t finish that question. He couldn’t even finish it in his head.

It had never even occurred to him that his mother could be...

How could she possibly be dating? She was busy all the time. She had her job and school and... She had him. 

And the band. She had that stupid band now. This was all the band’s fault. He was suddenly sure of that.

“Is he, like, a groupie or something?” Evan blurted out.

“Geoff?” Heidi laughed. “No. He did come to one of our practices, but I don’t think he was particularly impressed by us.”

Evan resisted the urge to comment on that. He continued to watch his foot as it scuffed against the floor.

“Not that I can blame him. Maggie keeps trying to find us gigs, but the rest of us are just playing for fun. I think that spell with the candy reminded us all that we need to have something fun in our lives.”

Evan didn’t know what to say to that. He understood where she was coming from and he was inclined to agree.

He hated the idea that something fun included going out with guys like Geoff.

Because he knew how that would go. It would lead to marriage and stepfamilies and abandonment.

There was a slight chance he was getting ahead of himself. He realized that, but he couldn’t seem to stop looking at it that way.

“Do you like him?” Evan asked suddenly.

“Who? Geoff?”

Evan nodded numbly.

“I-” Heidi started. “We’ve been out once. I like him well enough, but it isn’t serious. I told him I don’t have time for anything serious right now.”

“Okay, not now, but someday?”

Heidi smiled knowingly. “Maybe. I don’t know. It’s possible.”

“With Geoff?”

Heidi shrugged. “Or someone else. Or no one. Maybe I’ll start adopting dogs when you move out.”

“I always thought you were more of a cat person.”

“Are you kidding?” Heidi grinned. “I love dogs.”

“Just make sure they’re not weredogs.”

“I’ll ask Jamie how to tell the difference before I bring one home,” Heidi promised. 

 

**Sunday, March 4, 2018 6:45 PM**

“Seriously?” Jared moaned. “Come on. We’re on the same team here.”

“I thought you were going the other way,” Connor snapped. He threw his controller onto the couch and narrowed his eyes as Jared paused the game.

“Okay, this isn’t working,” Jared decided.

“No kidding,” Connor muttered. He frowned as he glanced around the room. “Where did Evan go?”

“We probably scared him away,” Jared shrugged.

Connor’s frown deepened at the thought. He’d noticed that Evan was bothered by their fighting, but he hadn’t cared enough to put a stop to it.

“So, did the Slayers ditch you?” Jared wondered.

“Pretty much,” Connor mumbled. “Elizabeth thought I’d get in the way.”

“Elizabeth went with them?”

Connor glanced up when he heard the surprise in Jared’s voice. “Yeah... Why?”

“I guess Zoe’s trying to keep an eye on her or...” Jared trailed off uncertainly.

“Why would she-” Connor shook his head when he realized that Jared knew something he didn’t.

Jared. Of all people, Jared knew something Zoe had neglected to tell him.

“You think Elizabeth’s up to something?” Connor demanded. The idea didn’t surprise him. He’d mentioned it to Evan a couple times. The whole thing seemed weird to him. The fact that she’d been a vampire, that someone had brought her back, that she was Nicole’s Watcher. He didn’t know what it all meant, but something didn’t seem right.

“We saw her with Henry,” Jared said. “So, yeah... Jamie’s supposed to be looking into it or having someone look into it. I don’t know. That’s the last I heard.”

Connor nodded vaguely. He glanced down the hall. He could hear voices in the kitchen and assumed that was where Evan had gone.

“We should probably try to play nice when Evan’s around,” Jared suggested. “He hates it when people fight. I think it reminds him of his parents back when... you know.”

“Right,” Connor muttered. He knew what Jared meant. He thought he did anyway. Evan hadn’t said much about it, but he could piece that one together. He knew Evan’s parents had divorced when he was young. He knew it had been hard for Evan to handle.

“You’ve known him a long time,” Connor observed.

“Since birth,” Jared nodded. “More or less. Our moms met in a birthing class and I was actually born the day before he was, so...”

“Oh,” Connor sighed. 

He’d never thought that Evan and Jared were that close. Not really anyway. Evan had said as much. He’d said that Jared always called them family friends before they got sucked into the whole Slayer thing. 

“I can tell you stories about him if you want,” Jared offered.

“What?”

Jared grinned and rubbed his hands together. “I know a ton of them. Did you ever hear about the time Evan held a funeral for a slug?”

Connor laughed as Jared told story after story. He had to admit that most of them were funny. He learned about the time Evan got lost at the circus and the time he threw up after eating an entire ice cream sundae by himself because he thought it would be rude to say he was full and the time he was convinced there was a mermaid living in the lake.

Jared paused when he finished that one. “Mermaids aren’t real, are they?”

“I have no idea,” Connor shrugged.

“Oh,” Jared said thoughtfully. “That one isn’t as funny now.”

“Yeah,” Connor agreed. He glanced at Jared curiously. “Do you know what the sex binder is?”

Jared’s face lit up excitedly. “Oh my God. The sex binder! I can’t believe I forgot about the sex binder.”

Connor spun around when he heard someone coughing behind him. His smile wavered when he saw Evan standing there.

“You guys are talking about me?” Evan squeaked.

“Yup,” Jared smirked. 

Evan rocked back and forth as he looked from them to the kitchen and back again. “Okay, I’m seriously debating what sounds worse – sitting down with you two or going back to the kitchen and talking to my mom about her love life.”

“So, the sex binder-” Jared began. He laughed as Evan fled back down the hall. 

“That was mean,” Connor said.

“Eh,” Jared shrugged. “Do you want to know what it is or not?”

Connor shook his head, but he couldn’t hide his amusement. “Go on...”


	13. Chapter 13

**Friday, March 9, 2018 6:30 PM**

Jared heard the twins coming before he saw them. He heard them, but he couldn’t move out of the way because he couldn’t tell what direction they were coming from. He gasped as one of them ran into him and made him smack into the wall.

“Alana!” Jared grumbled as she ran past. “You really need to learn to control your kids.”

“They’re not my kids!” Alana snapped. “They’re my sister’s kids and they’re on a sugar high.”

Alana put a hand on her hip and turned to glare at Tracy. “You just had to let them have cookies, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry,” Tracy hissed. “I thought Alice would be here by now and this would be her problem, not ours!”

“Wait,” Alana grinned. “Alice is coming to get them?”

Tracy nodded. “Yeah. She called me a few minutes ago. She said she’s on her way.”

Alana’s face lit up excitedly. “Well, that changes everything.”

“It does?” Tracy frowned.

Alana clapped her hands above her head. “Okay, guys, come on. Let’s go have some juice and cookies and...” She turned to squint at Jared. “Do you have any ice cream? The twins love ice cream.”

“Uh, kitchen,” Jared said hesitantly. “Try the freezer.”

“Awesome,” Alana beamed. She bounced up and down as she looked at the kids. “Let’s go have some treats before your mom gets here.”

Jared shook his head as he watched the twins prance down the hall with Alana and Tracy. He hoped the girls managed to keep the children out of everyone’s way until Alice took them home. It was dangerous having a pair of twin terrors running rampant throughout the house.

Jared jumped and shrieked when he turned around and found Connor standing right next to him. “Dude! Seriously? Bell. You need to start wearing one.”

“Do you know when Evan’s getting here?” Connor demanded.

“He’s-”

“Getting the cake with his mom,” Connor nodded. “You haven’t heard anything else?”

“In the five minutes since you last asked me?” Jared said slowly. “No. Despite what you seem to think, Evan and I are not actually psychically or in any other way connected.”

Jared rolled his eyes when he saw the look on Connor’s face. “Why don’t you go talk to Zoe? You like Zoe.”

“You like Zoe,” Connor countered.

“I, uh-” Jared stammered. He made a face when he saw the way that Connor was smirking at him. “I’m going to go talk to other people. Just go sit with Zoe until Evan gets here.”

“She’s sitting with Nicole,” Connor muttered.

“Oh,” Jared sighed. “Right.”

He followed Connor’s gaze and looked away before the Slayers caught him watching. He couldn’t blame Connor for not wanting to get in the middle of that.

“It’s good that she has her best friend back, isn’t it?” Jared said softly.

He could tell that was the wrong thing to say without even looking at Connor. He got it. He could see what was happening. He knew that Connor felt like he was being pushed out. They all did, to some extent. He knew Connor had it worse than the rest of them though. Connor had been working with Zoe the longest. He’d been working with her the most. Jared knew this wasn’t easy for him.

“Not that she needs Nicole,” Jared continued quickly. “She was doing just fine before.”

Connor didn’t say anything. He didn’t even bother looking up. He simply shoved his hands in is pockets and headed towards the snack table.

Jared took a breath and braced himself when he saw his mother rushing towards him.

“There you are! The cake’s here. Do you want to do cake or presents first?”

Jared blinked as she pulled him down the hall. “Uh, either way is-”

He bristled when he heard a loud thumping noise in the dining room. The noise was quickly followed by a series of shrieks and bangs and the sound of glass breaking.

 

**Friday, March 9, 2018 6:30 PM**

Jared heard the twins coming before he saw them. He heard them, but he couldn’t move out of the way because he was too busy blinking around dazedly. He gasped as one of them ran into him and made him smack into the wall.

“Alana!” Jared grumbled as she ran past. He scratched his neck and tilted his head at her. 

This was weird. Definitely weird. He was getting the strangest sense of déjà vu. 

“Sorry!” Alana yelped. “They’re on a sugar high.”

Alana put a hand on her hip and turned to glare at Tracy. “You just had to let them have cookies, didn’t you?”

Jared didn’t wait to hear Tracy’s response. He continued to shake his head and blink as he moved past them. 

He came to a sudden stop and spun around to face Connor. “Ha! You didn’t get me this time!”

Connor frowned as he narrowed his eyes at Jared. “Do you know where-”

“How long do you think it’s been since you asked me where Evan is?” Jared cut in.

“What?”

“How long?” Jared demanded. “Has it been seconds or minutes or-”

“Forget it,” Connor snapped. He turned on his heel and stalked back towards the living room.

“Wait!” Jared hurried to catch up with him. “I’m not trying to make fun of you. Something weird’s going on here.”

Connor stopped to stare at him. “Weird? What-”

“I don’t know,” Jared sighed. “It’s just... Something’s going on.”

“Okay,” Connor said slowly. “You’re not giving me much to go on.”

“I know,” Jared admitted. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced around at the party. “It’s like-”

He bristled when he saw his mother coming towards them.

“Cake!” Jared cried. “Let’s do cake first.”

“What’s that, sweetie?”

“Let’s just do cake first. Forget the presents. I’ll open them later.”

“Are you sure? I know how much you love-”

Jared groaned when he heard a loud thumping noise in the dining room. The noise was quickly followed by a series of shrieks and bangs and the sound of glass breaking.

 

**Friday, March 9, 2018 6:30 PM**

Jared heard the twins coming before he saw them. He automatically jumped out of the way and took off down the hall before they arrived.

“The cake’s here,” Jared hissed as he stormed past Connor. “The cake’s here, so that means Evan’s here. Go find him.”

Jared paused in the doorway and scanned the living room. His heart began to race when he saw his aunt June heading his way. He ducked his head and hurried into the room before she could reach him.

He spotted them sitting by the window. 

Jared pushed his way through the crowd, mumbling his thanks as people tried to wish him a happy birthday.

“Time loops,” Jared blurted out. He put a hand to his chest as he tried catch his breath.

“Time loops?” Jamie repeated. She exchanged a look with Bennie before facing Jared again.

“Time loops,” Jared nodded. “Do they exist?”

“There are spells that can cause-” Jamie started.

“How do you break them?” Jared interrupted sharply.

“It depends on the type, doesn’t it?” Bennie said thoughtfully.

Jared rocked back on his heels impatiently. “I need a solution and fast.”

“You’re in one, aren’t you?” Bennie blinked.

Jared nodded swiftly. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I am.”

“Okay, then you need to figure out what’s causing it and-”

Jared let out a frustrated scream when he heard a loud thumping noise in the dining room. The noise was quickly followed by a series of shrieks and bangs and the sound of glass breaking.

 

**Friday, March 9, 2018 6:30 PM**

Jared heard the twins coming before he saw them. He ran towards the kitchen as fast as he could.

Screw the twins. Screw Connor and his neediness. 

He was going to shake things up this time. 

He was going to... run smack into Evan.

“Hey,” Evan laughed. He rubbed his elbow as he straightened himself back up.

“Connor’s looking for you,” Jared said hurriedly. 

“Oh,” Evan nodded. “I’ll go...”

Evan anxiously pulled at his shirt and stared at his shoes. “Actually, before I do that, I wanted to talk to you about my present.”

“Your present?” Jared asked numbly.

“Yeah,” Evan mumbled. “So, I got you something and I’m not sure you’ll get what it is.”

“You got me some weird tree thing, didn’t you?” Jared scoffed.

Evan’s face went red as he nodded slightly. “Kind of. I mean, I don’t think it’s weird, but-”

Jared’s eyes widened when he saw his father carrying a pile of gifts into the dining room.

“Hold that thought,” Jared hissed. 

He ran across the room and slipped into the room right as his father collided with Evan’s mother.

There was a loud thumping noise as the cake and the pile of presents toppled to the floor. Jared clenched his teeth when the sounds of shrieks and bangs and glass breaking filled the air.

 

**Friday, March 9, 2018 6:30 PM**

Jared heard the twins coming before he saw them.

He heard them, but he didn’t fully register what he’d heard.

He immediately took off down the hall and grabbed Connor’s arm when he they crossed paths.

“Come on,” Jared ordered. “Let’s go help my dad with the presents.”

Connor didn’t look particularly pleased at that demand, but he allowed Jared to drag him towards the kitchen.

Jared quickly hopped to the side to avoid running into Evan when they entered the room, but Connor wasn’t so lucky.

Neither of them seemed to mind when they landed on top of each other though.

“Do that on your own time,” Jared hissed. He tapped his foot impatiently while he waited for them to pull themselves off the floor.

“Hey,” Evan greeted. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about my present.”

“I know,” Jared nodded. “You got me some weird-ass tree gift. It’s cool. You just wouldn’t be you if you got me something normal.”

“Oh,” Evan muttered. He blinked at Jared in surprise.

Jared rolled his eyes when he realized his outburst had angered Connor. “I don’t have time for this.”

Jared pushed past them and squeezed into the dining room seconds before his father came barreling in. 

He lunged forward to help catch the gifts before his father dropped them, but he wasn’t successful. Not entirely anyway.

The cake still splattered on the ground and a tiny green bag fell down before Jared could grasp it.

Jared squeezed his eyes shut when he heard the sound of glass breaking.

 

**Friday, March 9, 2018 6:30 PM**

Jared didn’t hear the twins.

He didn’t hear them because his heart was pounding so fast that he couldn’t hear anything else.

He ran into the living room and pulled himself up onto the coffee table.

He knew he shouldn’t do that. He knew there was a good chance it couldn’t support his weight.

He knew that, birthday or not, his mother would kill him if she saw him up there.

Jared stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled as loudly as he could. 

“Hey!” Jared shouted. “Who brought the gift in the tiny green bag?”

Jared glanced around the room frantically. “I’m serious! Who brought that gift? What is it? I need to know.”

He hopped off the table and ran to Bennie and Jamie. 

“I’m in a time loop,” Jared whispered. “Whatever’s in that bag... Time keeps jumping back every time it breaks.”

Bennie and Jamie blinked at him simultaneously. Jared had to shove his hands in his pockets to keep himself from smacking them upside the head.

“What do I do?” Jared whimpered.

“Well,” Bennie said slowly. “I’d suggest you try to find a way to prevent the loop from-”

“Don’t let it break,” Jamie filled in. She shook her head at Bennie exasperatedly.

“That’s easier said than done,” Jared snapped.

He grabbed his head when he heard a thumping sound in the dining room. He stared dazedly at the wall until he heard the glass break.

 

**Friday, March 9, 2018 6:30 PM**

Jared grabbed the boy twin by the shoulders and moved him out of the way.

“Hey, Alana!” Jared shouted down the hall. “Come get your cookie monsters!”

He clapped Connor on the shoulder as he wove around him. “Evan’s here.”

Jared dashed into the living room and made a beeline for the Slayers.

“Get up,” Jared ordered.

“What?” Zoe frowned.

“Get up, get up, get up,” Jared hissed. “Come on. Quickly.”

He didn’t bother waiting for them. He glanced over his shoulder and saw them raise their eyebrows at each other before they decided to follow him through the house.

“Dad!” Jared shouted for his father as he ran into the kitchen.

His father froze and turned to face him. “Yes?”

“Hold on,” Jared said quickly. “Let the girls take the presents.”

“You want us to carry the presents?” Nicole wondered.

Jared nodded rapidly. “Yeah. It’s okay, Dad. They’ve got this.”

Jared took a breath and stared at the dining room. “Actually, wait. Dad, can you go make sure the cake’s on the table?”

“What’s going on?” Zoe asked quietly.

Jared shook his head and counted to five. “Okay. Take them in. Carefully.” He lunged forward as Nicole started to gather the gifts. “Actually, wait. I’ll take that one.”

Jared grabbed the green bag and moved to the side.

“Who’s that from?” Zoe wondered. 

“That’s a good question,” Jared muttered. He waited until Nicole was gone before cautiously opening the bag.

Zoe leaned over to see. “Isn’t that-”

“A glass Yoda,” Jared chuckled. His laughter cut short as he realized who it was from. “Crap.”

“What?”

Jared carefully put the figurine on the counter. “Henry gave me one of these when I was ten.”

“Oh,” Zoe nodded. “So-”

“So, I broke it. Almost immediately. Henry was pissed. He’d bought it with his own money and he was seriously mad when I dropped it.”

“Okay,” Zoe said slowly.

“So,” Jared sighed. “He said the next time he gave me something like that, he would make sure there was no way I could break it.”

“You think this is from Henry?”

Jared nodded numbly. “The question is, how did he get it in here?”

“Elizabeth?” Zoe suggested.

“Maybe,” Jared shrugged. “Have you learned anything-”

He stopped speaking when the door swung open and Nicole stepped back in.

“Cake and presents are safely on the table,” Nicole said stiffly. She lifted her hand to mockingly salute Jared.

Nicole’s face scrunched up as she looked at the two of them. “If you wanted to be alone, you could’ve asked.”

“That’s not-” Jared began.

“He’s the one you’re... whatever, right?” Nicole asked Zoe.

Jared glanced at her curiously. “Do your parents still think we’re...”

“Do my parents, who could walk in here any moment, think that Jared and I are going out?” Zoe clarified. “Yes, so...”

Nicole pretended to zip her mouth shut. “It is just pretend though, isn’t it? I mean...”

Zoe’s hands twisted in front of her while she leaned back against the counter. “It’s-”

“If you need a fake-boyfriend, I can find someone-”

“It’s not fake,” Zoe hissed. She took a breath and very decidedly looked away when Jared turned to gape at her. “I mean, it’s not totally...”

Nicole’s mouth formed a thin line as she shook her head at Zoe. “Whatever... It’s your life.”

Jared didn’t move until she was gone. He tried to keep the amusement out of his voice when he finally broke the silence. “Uh, so-”

Zoe squared her shoulders and smiled at him. “You want to go out sometime?”

“Go out like-”

“Just no more _Star Wars_ , okay?”

“Okay,” Jared agreed. “What’s your stance on Marvel?”

Zoe shook her head and laughed. “How about I make the plans this time?”

Jared nodded quickly. “Yeah... That’s probably for the best.”

Zoe caught his eye and grinned. “It definitely, definitely is.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Saturday, March 24, 2018 9:00 PM**

Alana didn’t know much about sleepovers. She didn’t know the rules. She didn’t know the etiquette. She’d never been the kind of girl who was invited to sleepover parties. She’d never been the kind who wanted to host them either. Hanging out with Tracy, staying up and studying and gossiping and planning, had always been enough for her.

Her sisters had had their share of slumber parties. Everything Alana thought she knew about these things came from what she’d observed when Alice or Alicia had friends over.

So, she knew it was at least semi-normal for girls to sit around and tell each other scary stories.

She had a feeling Elizabeth was taking it farther than any of her sisters’ friends would have though.

“You killed the baby?” Tracy squeaked. “And the cat? You killed the kitten?”

Alana nodded in agreement. She shifted uncomfortably against Zoe’s bed and grimaced when she caught Tracy’s eye.

“I was a vampire,” Elizabeth said defiantly. “Of course, I killed them.”

“That’s sick,” Tracy whispered. “I mean...” 

She swallowed audibly and snuggled up against Alana.

“What’s the worst thing you did as a vampire?” Nicole eagerly asked.

“I don’t think I want to hear this,” Tracy announced. She grabbed the empty popcorn bowl and pulled herself off the floor. “Anyone want anything? No? Okay...”

Alana debated whether she should follow her out. She decided to give it a few minutes. She had to admit she was curious what Elizabeth’s answer was and there was something about the way Zoe was staring at the Watcher that made Alana pause.

Elizabeth gazed at the ceiling while she tapped her fingers against her chin. “That depends on what you mean by worst. Morally speaking, killing a newborn has to be up there on the list, but, on an emotional level, I’d say killing my father was the worst thing I ever did.”

“Do you regret it?” Zoe asked quietly.

Alana blinked at her in surprise. It had been at least ten minutes since Zoe had spoken.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Zoe. “Of course, I regret it. What kind of a question is that?”

Zoe shrugged and reached for her water. “I was just wondering.”

“You can’t imagine what it feels like,” Elizabeth said sharply. “To know what I did, to know that I relished it, to know that I would do it again if I found myself in the same position.”

“You would?” Nicole muttered.

Elizabeth straightened herself up and nodded. “That’s what I keep telling you. Vampires thrive on these things. They thrive on the power, on the darkness. They don’t experience regret. They don’t feel remorseful for the things they do.”

“You know how Jared’s brother is a vampire?” Alana asked. She tilted her head as Zoe started to cough.

“So I’ve heard,” Elizabeth nodded.

“Jared keeps asking me to find a way to restore his soul. Do you think that would be a mistake?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth said firmly. “Trust me. The guilt is overwhelming. It could easily drive him mad.”

“That’s what I thought,” Alana sighed. 

She was starting to feel like it was time to tell Jared she was done. It would be easy for her to walk away from this. It wasn’t like she’d done much in the first place. She hadn’t even bothered looking at any of her books in weeks.

Zoe stood up and nodded at the doorway. Alana turned to see Connor standing there. 

“I’ll be right back,” Zoe said.

“Me too,” Alana decided. “I’m going to go check on Tracy.”

She followed Zoe out, but she didn’t follow her down the stairs. She spotted Tracy sitting on the floor by the linen closet and plopped down next to her.

“You okay?” Alana asked.

“I don’t like her,” Tracy mumbled.

“I don’t think any of us do.”

“Except Nicole.”

Alana closed her eyes and nodded. “Except Nicole.” 

 

**Saturday, March 24, 2018 9:05 PM**

“Are you going somewhere?”

Connor tightened his hold on his bag and looked over his shoulder. “To Evan’s.”

“Now?” Zoe laughed. “Are you spending the night there?”

“Yeah,” Connor shrugged.

“Really?” Zoe grinned. “Okay. I guess what Mom and Dad don’t know...”

“It’s not like that,” Connor said shortly. He rolled his eyes at Zoe’s disbelief. “It’s not...”

“Is his mom there?”

“I don’t know. She might be working, but...” Connor made a face at her. “Shut up.”

“I think this might be the first normal thing I’ve ever seen you do. Our parents go away for the weekend and you sneak out to stay with your boyfriend.”

“You could always throw a kegger if you’re feeling left out.”

“Yeah, because there are a ton of people who would show up if they heard I was having a party.” Zoe looked away when she saw his expression. “I’m not trying to make you feel bad-”

“I don’t feel bad.” Connor leaned against the counter and looked her in the eye. “Besides, it’s not like you don’t have any friends. You have a whole group of them upstairs... Except, would you call Elizabeth a friend or a chaperone?”

“Neither,” Zoe said quickly. “Nicole invited her.”

Connor stepped forward so that he was standing next to her. “What’s her deal anyway? Elizabeth.”

“You’ve been talking to Jared?” Zoe whispered knowingly.

“He said something about her a while ago.”

“I don’t know,” Zoe admitted. “I feel like she’s... I don’t know.”

“Does Bennie trust her?”

“I’m not sure. I... We haven’t really talked about her.”

“Maybe you should,” Connor suggested.

“Probably,” Zoe agreed. She glanced at the ceiling and sighed. “I should get back up there. I’m sure Elizabeth’s dying to tell us about the time she slaughtered an entire orphanage.”

Connor nodded and started towards the door.

“Hey,” Zoe called after him. “You’re happy, right? With Evan, I mean. Things are good?”

“Yeah,” Connor said. “Things are good.”

“Good,” Zoe beamed. “I’m glad.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Sunday, March 25, 2018 3:30 AM**

Evan didn’t think anyone could blame him this time. It wasn’t his fault that his limbs decided to flail around wildly when he woke up. He dared anyone not to have that reaction after being shaken awake in the middle of the night.

“Huh?” Evan gasped. He bolted up and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. He felt something moving next to him and watched as Connor struggled to pull himself up.

“You are seriously the most dangerous person in the world to sleep next to,” Connor moaned.

“I-I know,” Evan nodded rapidly. He continued to blink until his eyes finally landed on Zoe. She was staring at them with a mixture of amusement and panic.

“Come on,” Zoe snapped. “We have to go.”

“Go?” Evan blurted out. “What? Where?”

“What’re you doing here?” Connor demanded.

“How’d you get in?” Evan mumbled.

“Your mom let me in,” Zoe replied. She glanced over her shoulder to nod at the door.

Evan could feel his face heating up as he lowered his head. He couldn’t bring himself to look at his mother. “We were watching a movie. We-we must’ve fallen asleep.”

He didn’t know why his face was so red. It was the truth. 

For the most part.

“We have to go,” Zoe insisted. “We have to find her before...”

Connor sat up straight and stared at her. “Before what?”

“She has Nicole.”

“Who?” Evan squeaked. “Who has Nicole?”

“Elizabeth has Nicole and I don’t who else.” Zoe anxiously ran a hand through her hair. “They were gone when I woke up.”

“Then how do you-” Connor started.

“They’re not answering their phones. And I was having a dream. Nicole was... She was screaming for me to get up and...”

“Where are Alana and Tracy?” 

“They went to check on Bennie and Jamie,” Zoe said. “My dream... I don’t know. I got the impression that she was after someone else. I thought maybe...”

“We’re fine,” Connor assured her. He looked at Evan quickly and nodded. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Evan whispered.

He slipped a hoodie on over his t-shirt and slid his feet into his sneakers. He let the others head out first. He hung back when he saw his mother watching him. For a second, he thought she was going to insist on going with them.

But she didn’t. Thankfully, she didn’t. She simply threw an arm around Evan and ordered him to be careful. 

“I will,” Evan promised.

 

**Sunday, March 25, 2018 3:45 AM**

Alana didn’t want to go into Bennie’s house alone. There was no way she was going in there by herself. Not then. Not when it had obviously been ransacked. 

She grabbed her phone and called Tracy.

“Hey,” Tracy answered breathlessly. “Jamie’s fine. She’s with me. We’re-”

“I think something happened to Bennie.”

There was a soft rustling sound and then Jamie picked up. “Alana?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he in there?”

“I don’t know,” Alana said frantically. “The door’s open and I can see the place has been trashed and-”

“Okay. It’s okay. We’re picking up Jared now, so we’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Alana hung up and stepped forward again. She felt stupid. Stupid for being afraid. Stupid for not knowing what to do.

Her grandmother would’ve gone right in. Zoe would’ve gone in. 

Even Tracy would have. When she was a cat at least. Tracy had been fearless as a cat.

Human Tracy, not so much, but still...

Alana didn’t want to die and she didn’t want to fight by herself and she didn’t...

A car pulled up and Alana turned to say that was fast. It wasn’t Tracy and Jamie though.

Alana swallowed sharply as Zoe practically flew across the lawn.

“Is he okay?” Zoe shouted.

Alana could only shrug. She took a breath as Zoe ran up to the house. Connor was right on her heels while Evan trailed behind.

She supposed that was something. She supposed she wasn’t the only one who wasn’t willing to blindly jump into an unknown situation.

The house looked even worse when she stepped inside. Alana joined the others as they cautiously crept around the downstairs. Zoe left them to check the upstairs while Connor decided to brave the basement.

Alana had to do something. She felt like she had to do something. Standing in the living room with Evan did not count. 

She ran to the kitchen and started pulling ingredients out of the cabinets.

“What’re you doing?” Evan asked.

“Locator spell,” Alana explained. “Can you find something that belongs to Bennie? Clothing or-”

“Yeah,” Evan said quickly.

Alana nodded to herself as he ran back out of the room. She may not be the bravest person in their group, but she could do this. She could find Bennie. She could figure out where they had to go.

 

**Sunday, March 25, 2018 4:10 AM**

“This is breaking and entering, isn’t it?” Alana asked nervously.

“The door was already open,” Tracy reminded her.

“I know, but if someone finds us, they’re going to see all these weapons and assume we’re the ones who did it.”

“Do you think the architects knew what they were doing when they built the school on top of a Hellmouth? I mean, it’s pretty fitting when you think about it.”

“You’re trying to distract me,” Alana said accusingly.

“Is it working?”

“Not really,” Alana sighed.

“Relax,” Connor called over his shoulder. “If Zoe and I didn’t get expelled for the gym thing, then-”

“What if we’re too late?” Alana interrupted. “What if-”

“We don’t know what Elizabeth’s doing,” Tracy pointed out.

“Exactly,” Alana nodded. She glanced around expectantly. She didn’t get this. She didn’t get why she was the only one panicking. No one else seemed bothered by the fact that they had no idea what they were heading into.

Even Evan looked calm. 

Well, maybe not calm. Calmer than Alana felt though.

She tilted her head as she studied his expression.

Or maybe not. She was starting to think she wasn’t the only one panicking. She was just the only one who was capable of voicing said panic.

“They’re in there,” Zoe hissed from down the hall. She slowly opened the door to the auditorium. She’d barely made it inside before it swung shut behind her.

It swung shut so decisively that Alana was surprised the wall didn’t crack.

“Well, that can’t be good,” Jared muttered.

 

**Sunday, March 25, 2018 4:15 AM**

Zoe didn’t know much about magic, but she knew a ritual when she saw one. 

Every instinct in her body told her to help Nicole when she saw the way her friend was tied up. Her heart felt like it was flipping in her chest when she realized that Nicole was alive. Bleeding and quite possibly unconscious, but alive.

Bennie though... 

He wasn’t moving. He was on the ground and he wasn’t moving.

“What did you do?” Zoe demanded. 

She didn’t care that she was outnumbered. Seriously, seriously outnumbered. She knew she couldn’t take them all. She might be able to stake a few of them, but...

They didn’t answer her. They didn’t even look at her. It was like she wasn’t there.

It was like the vampires were in a trance of some kind.

Zoe crept forward, stake in hand. She shoved it into one of the vampires in the back of the group and then another and then... She managed to take out four of them before Elizabeth even looked up.

“Ah, Zoe, good. Excellent timing. Maybe a second Slayer is necessary for this. I’m starting to think Nicole’s blood isn’t strong enough.”

Zoe automatically stepped backwards and eyed her warily. “For what? What’re you doing?”

“What I wanted to do fifteen years ago,” Elizabeth said softly. “It didn’t work then. I made the mistake of thinking that I needed to be a demon for the ritual to work. To literally be a demon, not just use their blood.”

Zoe’s eyes widened with realization. “You became a vampire on purpose?”

Elizabeth smiled serenely. “I always knew I was meant for this. To be at the center of this world. As a child, I wanted to be the Slayer. When I realized that wasn’t happening, I made other arrangements.”

“Okay, that’s stupid,” Zoe scoffed. “You know that, don’t you? You dreamt of being the Slayer? Do you have any idea how hard this is? How scary and-”

“Do you have any idea how awful it is to be a Watcher? Talk about a thankless job. You spend your whole life training Slayers and Potential Slayers. Researching and learning and doing all the hard stuff so that you girls can run around with your pointy sticks and save the day.”

“That’s not all we-”

“I’m talking,” Elizabeth said sharply. “Where was I? Right, so, I finally realized what I wanted to do. You see, Watchers never make the history books. No one ever remembers their names. No one ever remembers their accomplishments. It’s always all about the Slayer. The Watchers don’t matter at all.”

“So, what is this? You’re draining Nicole to... To what? Become a Slayer?”

“I don’t want to be that anymore,” Elizabeth spat. “I want to be better than that. I’m going to be stronger than that. I’ll have the strength of the Slayer and the power of a vampire.”

Zoe nodded numbly. She glanced at the vampires that were gathered around Elizabeth. “You’re draining them, just like you’re draining Nicole.”

Zoe’s hands balled into fists as her eyes continued to flicker around the room. She had to do something, but she didn’t know what. She was tired and it was hot in the auditorium and Elizabeth was crazy. 

The insane kind of crazy. The insane kind of crazy that was also eerily logical. Zoe knew she couldn’t act rashly. She knew she had to think this out. 

“What about Bennie?” Zoe asked shrilly. “What’re you doing to your brother?”

“This ritual requires a sacrifice,” Elizabeth explained calmly. “Last time, I used my father’s blood. Will will have to fill the role this time. Though, between you and me, this really isn’t much of a sacrifice.”

Zoe looked away quickly when she saw a light bouncing above the stage. She looked away and hoped that Elizabeth hadn’t noticed it.

“So, what’s your plan then? You’re going to have all these powers and you’re going to use them to...”

“To take my place as the-”

“Queen of the vampires?” Zoe laughed. “You do know that we already have one of those, right? A self-proclaimed one, but she doesn’t take it well when people challenge her.”

“Amy won’t be a match for me,” Elizabeth sniffed. “Half of these vampires belong to her... Or so she thinks.”

Zoe glanced at the vampires again. “Henry. Where’s Henry Kleinman?”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “He decided not to come. Pity. I thought he was on my side, but he was just using me to get information on his brother.”

Zoe nodded stiffly. She stepped to the side when she saw a shadow move across the rafters. If she could keep Elizabeth focused on her...

“Why are you back? Who resurrected you?”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at her. “You’re trying to make me talk.”

“I am not,” Zoe said shakily. “I’m curious. And-”

Zoe stopped herself before she said that it was obvious Elizabeth wanted to talk. She knew that would make Elizabeth shut up right away.

“It doesn’t matter,” Elizabeth shrugged. “The ritual will be done in a minute.”

“So, you don’t need me then?”

“No. You can be my first kill though.”

It took all of Zoe’s willpower not to look up again.

“You know, for someone who keeps going on about how the Slayer is meant to stand alone, you certainly have had a lot of people helping you.”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes again. “Excuse me?”

“I’m just saying, I don’t think you’re as amazing as you seem to think you are.”

“I will be-”

“You have the vampires here. You have Nicole, who I’m betting came here willingly because she trusted you. You had vampires helping you fifteen years ago in London and, obviously, you had someone helping you there this time too or you wouldn’t be back.”

Elizabeth folded her arms across her chest and scowled at Zoe. “They brought me back because they knew I could get this done. I’ll be the first of many. The first and the most important. You’ll see. You’ll-”

Elizabeth stopped speaking abruptly as a burst of light surrounded her and sent her flying into the wall. Her body fell to the ground in a way that made Zoe hope she was unconscious.

Zoe immediately ran forward and checked on Bennie. She ran forward as her friends and Jamie climbed down to the stage. 

“Is he-” Jamie started.

Zoe’s hands shook as she checked for a pulse. “Alive. He needs-”

“An ambulance,” Evan finished. “It’s already on its way.”

“Nicole’s alive too,” Tracy called from across the stage. 

“So, what was your plan?” Connor asked.

Zoe fought the urge to roll her eyes when she saw he was smirking at her. “I knew if I kept her talking long enough, you all would figure something out.”

“That was a good blasting spell,” Jamie told Alana. “Have you two been practicing?”

Alana caught Tracy’s eye and grinned. “You could say that.”

“We’re better together,” Tracy beamed.

“We all are,” Zoe agreed. She shrugged when they turned to look at her. “What? It’s true...”


	16. Chapter 16

**Sunday, March 25, 2018 5:30 AM**

It didn’t take Nicole long to regain consciousness.

Zoe wasn’t surprised by that. The ability to heal quickly was just one of the many perks of being a Slayer.

Nicole regained consciousness, but she was still pretty out of it. She didn’t remember anything that had happened after Elizabeth brought her to the auditorium.

Zoe thought that was for the best. It was probably better not to know. 

It would take Bennie longer to recover. Zoe knew that without being told. 

She lingered in the doorway to his room before deciding not to go in. She didn’t feel like sitting by his bed and waiting for him to wake up. 

And, besides, it looked like Jamie had that part covered.

“Do you think they’re together?” Connor asked curiously.

Zoe wrinkled her nose at him. “Bennie and Jamie?”

Connor nodded and tilted his head to watch.

“I used to wonder if they were, but... I don’t know.”

“If they get married, I am not calling him Uncle Bennie,” Connor decided.

“Me neither,” Zoe agreed. 

She kind of hoped they didn’t get married. Or get together. Or do anything that would make the Council feel like Bennie had been compromised. That he could no longer be objective when it came to Zoe.

She knew Elizabeth had thought that. She wondered if Elizabeth had gotten around to reporting her findings to the Council. She wondered if it would matter once they found out that Elizabeth had lost her mind.

“I guess they’ll have to send Nicole a new Watcher,” Zoe said thoughtfully.

“What’re they going to do with Elizabeth?” Connor wondered.

Zoe shrugged. She had no idea. Several members of Alana’s coven had shown up to get Elizabeth. They were holding her somewhere until Jamie heard back from the Council.

She wondered if Elizabeth would go back to England. She wondered if she’d be locked up somewhere, if they’d try to get her help. She wondered if Bennie would stand by his sister or if he’d decide she was a lost cause.

Zoe kind of hoped he didn’t give up on Elizabeth. Not just for Elizabeth’s sake, but for his own. Because people needed people. Zoe didn’t think anyone should have to face the world alone. Even if they were evil and batshit crazy.

Zoe turned around when she heard someone clearing their throat behind her.

“Nicole’s asking for you,” Evan said.

Zoe nodded and headed back down the hall. She didn’t know what she’d say to Nicole. She knew Nicole would have questions, that she would be upset and possibly in shock.

Zoe also knew that Nicole would be okay.

At least, she hadn’t died. She’d come close, but not quite.

Zoe would help her get through this because that was what they did. They worked together, they helped each other. All of them. Whoever originally thought that the Slayer should stand alone was even crazier than Elizabeth.

Zoe paused as she walked by a window. She stood there for a moment and watched the sky.

The night was over. Somewhere in the distance, the sun was starting to rise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a series wrap this time.
> 
> For the foreseeable future, at least. I don’t have any current plans to continue writing about this universe. 
> 
> As always, a huge thank you to everyone who has been reading this. I’ve had fun writing this series and hope you all have had fun reading it.
> 
> I am already planning to start another DEH work in the near-ish future. I always end up rewatching a couple shows during the summer when my current ones go on break. The next ones on my line-up are _Pushing Daisies_ and _Veronica Mars_.
> 
> And, since my brain is apparently determined to mash up DEH with whatever I’m watching, I’m already in the early stages of plotting out a VM-inspired fic.
> 
> So, there will eventually be a story on here featuring a third Murphy sibling as a murder victim, Heidi as the disgraced former sheriff-turned PI, and a significantly snarkier version of Evan.
> 
> The good news for anyone who’s interested in reading that is that I have already worked out the murderer’s identity/motive. The bad news is that it will probably take me a little while to work out all the clues and red herrings (because it just wouldn’t be a VM-inspired fic if I didn’t try to make everyone look suspicious at least once). I also have to come up with a bunch of mini-mysteries (which will probably be about as mysterious as an episode of _Scooby Doo_ ).
> 
> So, that’s that. If you’re interested in reading that story, keep an eye out for it here or you can check for updates on my new writing tumblr page which is also under the name hopefulminty.


End file.
